A Shattered Prophecy
by Narfy
Summary: [Final chapter up] Kiara and Kovu give birth to a child, who if fallen into the wrong hands, will have the power to change the world. Will any one in the pridelands be able to keep her out of harms way?
1. Four years earlier

Well hello everyone, long time no see eh? Sorry the wait took longer than anticipated, got a bad case of writers block and I did not feel like writing anything. But now I am back with a brand new story. A story of a prophecy that is about to be foretold; a story of hate and anger, love and jealousy, adventure and danger, death and sacrifice. So sit back and relax as I start this story four years before it all begins.

Oh yes and to those who have no idea what is going on just go to Memoirs of a Blue Bird or Conga's Journey and it will all be explained.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Lion King but Conga, Mahiri, and most of the other new characters in this story are mine, so no touchy unless you ask nicely.

* * *

Evening had broken over the dry landscape of the savanna; it had rained a few nights ago but not enough to replenish the ground. The land was in the middle of the dry season and the rain they had a few nights ago had caused many to wonder what was happening to the climate. Though most of them shrugged it off as if nothing had happened and that it was a nice change to the dry air. 

Hatari the hyena on the other hand had anticipated this rain for many months now, for it signaled that a new era would begin in a few years time. An era where hyenas were no longer lower than a lion but above them. Sauda, the matriarch of his pack and the one who had first dreamed of the prophecy had told him the time was very soon and that he should start searching for the first key to unlock it.

Hatari sat on an eroded cliff side waiting for Migwi a crowned eagle and the hyena packs advisor to return from scouting. He had been searching for the past four days for the first sign and so far had turned up nothing, but today would be different.

Hatari saw the dark eagle fly toward him, faster than usual, his dark shape getting bigger by the second, for anyone who had never seen the eagle before, they would have probably run in fear for their life but not Hatari, he sat still as the large bird landed in front of him ready to deliver important news.

Migwi was huge, almost as big as Hatari, probably about a foot shorter but that did not matter, animals still ran for cover from him, no one wanted to be his grasp. He was mostly black but had a few stripes of white here and there, his eyes were a piercing yellow that seemed to stare into your soul every time you looked at him, that was the only thing that really made Hatari nervous were the eyes and he usually tried to avoid their gaze.

Because Migwi was a member of this strange hyena clan, he had been taught to become quite an assassin, killing those who got in the way swiftly and flying off as if nothing had ever happened. He kept a small pouch made from the bladder of an antelope under one of his wings that contained a powerful poison from various poisonous plants in the area along with a few drops of cobra venom. He had a small thorn to dip his concoction in for one prick was enough to kill in a few minutes.

Of course he would have to hit in the heart for the creatures death to be quick and painless. He rarely missed, often his victims died in less than five minutes. Only a few times did he miss the right spot. Once he poisoned a hyena for questioning Sauda's ways, the hyena knew what was coming and moved out of the way, Migwi had not counted on that, but he still lashed out, striking the poor creature in the shoulder. For two hours the creatures wails were heard throughout the savanna until Sauda finally ordered Hatari to finish him with a bite to the neck.

"So did you find the child?" asked Hatari, his voice rough and cold.

"I did, he is just over that hill, the parents saw me and chased me away, I decided it was best for you to come and help me," said Migwi.

"But you could kill them with one swipe, and the child would be ours right now," said Hatari with a growl.

"It is not that simple sire, they had three others, I did not want to kill both the parents," said Migwi. For someone with such a cold heart he really cared about the family that was involved.

"Fine, take me to them, perhaps I can reason with them," said Hatari in a rather annoyed voice. He hated arguing with creatures over any kind of matter.

Migwi nodded and with one sweep of his wings, he took to the skies toward the trees, Hatari running behind him hoping he would get this over with quick.

He arrived a few minutes later to find Migwi trying to fight two hornbills off as they pecked at him and yelled for him to stay away. Normally Hatari enjoyed watching the birds fight, he never understood why. Usually he found battles between other hyenas to be quite annoying but not bird fights, perhaps it was the way they fought high in the air or the angry screeches they made. But Hatari knew that it was best to get on with it.

"I suppose you are wondering why he is invading your nest," said Hatari in a loud enough voice for the two hornbills to hear.

The two hornbills stopped what they were doing and stared down at the hyena, anger in their eyes, knowing that something was not right.

"Because he wants to eat our children no doubt but I bet you want to do the same and we will fight to the death to keep our children safe," said the male hornbill.

"What is your name?" asked Hatari as if ignoring what the father had said.

"Its Matwa, but what does that have to do with anything?" asked the father.

"Because it is important to know someone's name when engaging in a conversation, I am Hatari, that there is Migwi," said Hatari.

"Charmed," said Matwa with a sneer while Hatari started to explain his reason.

"The reason why I am here is not to eat any of you but because you have hatched something that we have been waiting for for many years. You hatched an albino did you not?" asked Hatari.

Matwa looked down at his mate who then stared at her four bundles, indeed one was whiter than the other's, almost like a white cotton ball among dark pebbles. Both knew their child was special but both did not know that he would be involved in a prophecy.

"Yes one of our children is white, why are you so concerned about it?" asked Matwa.

"Because he plays a key role in our plan in possibly a few months, possibly a few years, but we are not sure," said Hatari.

"And you want to borrow our child on a day to day basis?" asked Matwa a little nervous about what he was hearing, not sure if he should try to fight off the intruders or not.

"Not day to day, Matwa but day and night, no longer in your care but in ours, I don't think you will be missing him, you have three others to feed," said Hatari.

This angered Matwa greatly, he did not like the idea of one of his children being subjected to living his whole life with hyenas, never to know his parents. He jumped up ready to attack Hatari but was quickly blocked by Migwi.

"So are you telling us that we will never have a chance to see our child at all?" asked the mother, whose name was Hala.

"You might one day, in all his glory as he leads us to victory," said Hatari.

"No I will not have it; our child is ours and no one else's. I will not want to see my child to grow up with scum like you," said Matwa as he flew into Migwi's face ready to peck at him.

Migwi then gave a loud screech and with a swift grab, he had Matwa by the neck, staring at the hornbill in the eyes before lowering himself to the ground and pinning the poor hornbill in the grass. Hala stood above, not sure if she should help her husband or stay put in fear of having their children die a horrible death without their parents.

Hatari slowly walked over to Matwa, looking into the angry hornbill's eyes knowing that he would peck his eyes out the first chance he got, but Hatari stayed strong and pretended not to notice.

"Perhaps you do not understand the situation here. Either you let us take the child and you all live or you don't let us and I will make you watch your wife and all four of your children die a slow and painful death leaving you alone to suffer and wish that death would take you, now what is it going to be?" asked Hatari.

Matwa's anger quickly turned to fear for his family as he looked up at his wife who was watching the whole thing from her nest with a worrisome look. He loved his wife, he had been married to her for only a year now and this was their first clutch, he wanted to grow old with her and have many children, he did not want her to die at such an early age. Even though he was loosing a child at least it would be promised to be in good hands.

"Fine, take him, but don't ever come back, the next time I see you I will make sure you both have one eye in those ugly faces of yours," said Matwa.

Hatari nodded at Migwi who then flew up to grab the child, Hala quickly moved aside as she watched the eagle carefully grab the helpless chick from the nest and flew back down next to Hatari who stared at the helpless little creature.

"It's amazing how something so small can grow to be something great," said Hatari with some slight nurture in his voice.

"I doubt that you will be a great father though, I've watched you guys raise your own children. Show them how to be sneaky and trick others just so you can only take a few bites of the food and leave the rest for scavengers. I guess you are going to teach my son how to be wasteful and greedy. I know all about Sauda and her and her evil ways, killing because they don't follow her ways and making sacrifices that aren't meant to be sacrificed. Well I hope he will be smart and leave you guys when he is older and then your plan will be ruined." said Matwa with a sneer.

Hatari's patience had now run very low, anyone who talked back especially about Sauda was considered disposable. He turned to Migwi and nodded, Migwi knew what he wanted.

"But sire, the chicks need a father," said Migwi.

"And you will be out of a job if you don't do what I ask, besides he has wasted my time, bickering and carrying on like that, you know how I feel about those who waste my time," said Hatari with a growl.

Migwi knew he had no choice, if it was one thing he hated to kill; it was a mother or a father. He had killed a mother zebra once and the poor child was left alone to fend for itself. Sauda though quickly put an end to that a week later.

Migwi slowly gripped his talons around the thorn and dipped it into the antelope bladder and turned around to face Matwa who was still staring at both with such anger that he could burn a hole into the back of both their heads.

Then in the blink of an eye, Migwi swiped at Matwa leaving a small cut on his chest. Matwa backed away startled not knowing that his life was slowly ebbing away.

"What was that for? I let you have the child, he's yours to poison and destroy his mind to follow your cruel ways. I know how you all are, ruthless and uncaring and thieves, stealing from someone else's hunt and claiming it as your own," said Matwa.

"If I were you, I would be more concerned in saying goodbye to your wife than bickering to me about how horrible we are," said Hatari with no concern in his voice.

Matwa stared at Hatari in confusion for a moment until he suddenly felt lightheaded. He clutched his chest and felt his heart beat faster than usual.

"What's….happening?" he asked between breaths.

"Because you wasted my time with your silly arguing I decided that you are of no need to anyone anymore since you'll probably waste everyone else's time. Hopefully your wife will know how to take care of the chicks on her own," said Hatari.

Hala flew down to inspect her mate who was now quickly ebbing away. She held onto him as he began lying down in the grass, too weak to keep himself up. Hatari and Migwi watched their sentence unfold. Hatari showed no sympathy and gave a small smirk of satisfaction. Migwi on the other hand felt terrible but knew not to intervene with the two lovers last time together.

Finally Matwa gave a painful shudder and closed his eyes for the final time. Hatari nodded to Migwi who followed the hyena back to the cave with the chick. Hala's cries echoing through the savanna.

* * *

The cave was hidden on a hillside near a small river. You would not know it was there until you walked right into it and that's just what Sauda liked. Enemies could not find her or her pack and usually by the time an enemy did find them, the pack had already known about it and quickly dealt with the intruder. 

Sauda was only a few years past her prime though she looked older than that. Her once brown fur was now lightly grayed with a few pink scars crisscrossing her body from many battles she had over the years. Her right eye was the strangest characteristic about her though, it was slightly larger than the left eye and it was nothing but a sightless milky white ball. She claimed to be a shaman but not the good kind, it was the kind who would perform sacrifices just to know the future, she was not at all a healer. Many animals in the savanna feared her and it was rightfully so, she did not take kindly to those who disobeyed her and if anyone tried to usurp her she would have Migwi quickly dispose of them.

When the eagle and the hyena arrived in the cave they found Sauda sitting alone near a crystal clear blue water hole muttering ancient chants. The rest of the pack a few yards away either listening to her or talking about their day in particular. It was not a large pack, only about fifteen members, but what they lacked in size they had in strength.

Hatari stood there with the chick in his mouth not sure whether to inform Sauda of his presence or wait until she was finished. His mind was made up only a few second later though.

"Have you returned with the chick?" asked Sauda as if her mutterings had never been done.

"I believe so your majesty, he is white like you said," said Hatari.

"Bring him to me," said Sauda.

Hatari slowly walked over and placed the chick on a square boulder that had a light shining in the middle of it from a hole on top of the cave. This was the place where Sauda was known for doing her sacrifices, some dried blood was still there from a week long kill and a few bones which she claimed told the future. In the center of the boulder was a symbol of the hyena clan, a sharp fang.

Sauda walked over to the boulder and stared down at the chick with her good eye, carefully she lifted the chicks head to find that his eyes were still closed since he was only four days old, most chicks could not open their eyes until about a week but that was not what concerned her, she knew it was the chick the instant she saw his forehead. On his forehead was a mark, not white like the rest of his body but grey and in the shape of the packs symbol. Sauda smiled and then laughed for she knew that the prophecy had come at last.

"You have done well Hatari," she said.

"Thank you your majesty and you promised to tell us what the prophecy is once the first key to it is revealed," said Hatari.

The entire pack murmured in agreement. Sauda smiled and stared at Hatari for a moment, she remembered his grandparents when she was a pup, they didn't live long to see her grow but the stories they told of the pride lands always fascinated her.

"You remember what your parents told you about your grandparents?" she asked.

"Of course they said they were from the pride lands but my grandmother decided to leave when King Simba started to rule," said Hatari.

"That is right, we had always been persecuted there and your grandmother felt that it was best that we leave until a better opportunity came about. And this opportunity had finally come for one day we will be rulers of the pride lands," said Sauda.

Everyone gasped in astonishment and watched as the old shaman circled the pool before sprinkling it with special herbs. They watched as the smoke rose up, at first it was very thick until Sauda began swatting at it with her paws until it became softer.

"I want you all to join me, come to the pool and watch the prophecy be told in front of your very eyes," said Sauda.

The entire pack and Migwi made their way over, circling it and watching as visions began to unfold. The first thing they saw was a great lion of stocky build and a very wise face.

_It was Mohatu who passed the law out that all hyenas should be exiled to the outlands," _The voice said.

They watched as the great lion chased the packs away with the help of his pride. Some hyenas tried to fight back but those who did were swiftly punished.

"_Mohatu died years later and his son Ahadi took over, but he was just like his father, any hyena caught in the border were either chased away or executed," _said the voice.

They watched as a lighter colored lion but with a much darker mane began chasing the hyenas biting them or just simply picking on them, some of the hyenas flinched as they watched it until the image changed to another lion, this one looked more powerful and threatening.

"_Mufasa tolerated them but not when his own sons life was at stake," _the voice said.

The hyenas watched as Mufasa tore at Hatari's grandparents for trying to kill his only son. He let them go free but not without causing them to feel very angry about their mistreatment.

"_Then Taka arrived, brother to Mufasa he promised the hyenas free range if he was king and so he murdered his own brother,"_ The voice continued.

The hyenas watched as Mufasa fell to his death, some laughed with delight others could not believe what they were seeing.

"_But Taka was not a good king and a great drought came over the land destroying everything. There was no food, no water and the pride lands were living in total blackness until Mufasa's son returned. He defeated Taka but Shenzi felt that the hyenas had worn out their welcome and headed out for a better life until the time was right to take over the pride lands."_

The hyenas watched as they showed Shenzi and Banzai starting a pack where they were now, not all the hyenas from the pride lands joined them, some left for smaller packs, others died along the journey. It showed Sauda taking over the pack once Shenzi was too old to carry on herself, she had fought her way to get there, many battles were fierce but she always emerged victorious.

"_But the pride lands will not be empty for long for the white bird will help you on your quest to regain it," _continued the voice.

The images that appeared showed the chick much older with an evil glint in his eyes and helping the hyenas fight the lions.

"_But he will not be the only one to help you for King Simba's daughter will give birth to a third child with a special power, the power to control. She will bear the mark on her chest like the white bird and in the sixth month of the full moon her power will be the strongest causing the moon to stay full for two weeks." _

The image showed the hyenas gathered around the altar watching the young lion as she stared up at the full moon, the light illuminating off her face as the power was drained out of her.

"_If it is a success, she will help you win the war when the pride wants her back. The white bird will stand on her shoulder the whole way, leading the pack into victory."_

They saw the young lion run down a hill, the white hornbill on her shoulders yelling out orders to attack. But then suddenly the vision changed and showed a young hornbill, teal in color with a scar on her shoulder.

"_But beware the scarred one for she can change the prophecy if it is used unwisely, she will be a great burden if anything goes wrong. The only way to stop her is for the white one to destroy her."_

Slowly the images faded while the voice turned into a whisper until the pool was finally back to its original state. Some of the hyenas stood where they were, wanting to know more of the prophecy that would occur soon.

"So there you have it the lion cub will be born in maybe a few months or years. Can you all believe it, a lion leading us to victory!" said Sauda with a loud voice.

The hyenas murmured quietly to each other while Sauda turned to Migwi who still had his eyes transfixed on the pool.

"Since I am most likely incapable of taking care of the chick, he is yours to raise until he is old enough to follow me. He will be named Kairu after my first son, you remember Kairu don't you Hatari?" asked Sauda.

Hatari shuddered, how could he forget Sauda's only son, the son who became possessed by an evil hyena spirit. Hatari was great friends with him and didn't even know he was possessed until Kairu tried to drown him while they were playing. For days Sauda tried to save him and bring him back to himself but after the eighth day a strange feeling came to him and he ran around the cave like a wild banshee before running out into the savanna and leaping to his death on an eroded cliff. He was given an honorable funeral and for many months Sauda was beside herself with grief sometimes trying to bring him back to life, but it never worked and after his death she vowed never to have another child. She even shunned her mate Kumanda afraid to look him in the eyes. She still did, in fact she had not talked to him since Kairu's death. Kumanda was now just a regular member of the hyena pack.

"I do remember him," said Hatari quietly.

Migwi looked at the helpless chick; he felt bad for it but knew he had to do Sauda's bidding. Slowly he picked up Kairu and flew over to his nest that was hidden in a nearby corner and covered him in warm down.

"Take care of him Migwi for if he dies, our future will be at stake and so will your life," said Sauda before disappearing out of the cave to go hunting.

Migwi grunted, Sauda sure wanted this plan to go over well. It made him wonder though if the prophecy would really work, he would only find out in time. For now he had to take care of the one who would help with the victory. He was sleeping beside him in the nest, breathing softly not knowing that he had lost a father less than an hour before.

Migwi quietly made sure that the chick was warm enough and without a sound, he flew out of the cave to find some food for him. While at the same time he felt an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach as if something in the prophecy would not go right.

* * *

A/N: well there's my first chapter, sorry it was so long but hopefully you enjoyed that. In case you are wondering here are the name meanings of the characters. 

Hatari: Danger

Migwi: Arrows

Matwa: Sensible

Hala: Glorious

Sauda: Dark Beauty

Kairu: Dark one

Kumanda: Graveyard

Well please review; nice ones are always welcome especially when they are very helpful. **Flamers will be given a stern lecture about being an idiot and a swift kick in the ass if I ever see you on the streets. **Also not sure how often I will be updating, it will be a busy time of year where I work for Halloween and Christmas but I will try to get them up as best I can. And if anyone thinks that "A Shattered Prophecy" does not sound like a good title and has a better idea for one please let me know because I love to take suggestions. Well see you all later.


	2. Birth

A/N: Holy Crap, ten reviews for one chapter!!! Man that just feels weird. Anyway onward men.

* * *

Four years had passed since the first piece of the puzzle was found for the prophecy and in those four years, only Sauda and her clan knew about it, Jabir was only just finding this out.

Jabir was a young baboon about ten years old and shaman of the pride lands; he had been so for the past two years. Rafiki had left him one day saying his time had come and left for the place where many shaman go to die. The Pride Lands felt strangely empty after Rafiki left for Jabir was just not the same and he knew it.

He was more nervous about the things he did, never sure if he was doing it right like the fact that Rafiki never taught him how to introduce the new prince of the Pride Lands. Rafiki told him that it was pure instinct to know those kinds of things and when the new prince turned out to be prince's he was at a complete loss. Finally settling with both of the twins, introducing one first and then the other. Healing he was very good at, curing any ailments the pride had, or performing funerals, he hated doing those, it always felt so strange and lonely.

It was one morning though when the young baboon awoke with a start, it was still very early in the morning, the sun was barely over the horizon and the only sounds to be heard was the rustling of the grass in the savanna. Jabir had had that strange dream he had been having for the past six months, it kept telling him that a prophecy was going to be foretold, of a child with the half moon shape on her chest, and of death, he could not get that out of his mind. He wasn't the one who was going to die but a member of the pride, an important member and whose death would cause great sadness for everyone.

Jabir gave a heavy sigh and decided it was best to begin his morning chores around the tree of life, usually he thought about painting something on the tree but if his artistic talent would not come out then meditation was the best option. He would do this for a few hours before having a small breakfast and then wandering around the pride lands, sometimes helping Conga, the prides majordomo, deliver the prides news.

Jabir walked over to a nearby trunk and stared at it, turtle shells with paint in them were at his feet while beautifully drawn pictures were on the wall. Some were by Rafiki which were fading, it was a shame really, his pictures always told wonderful stories. Jabir's were just not the same; usually it was just a design, sometimes an animal but they never seemed to show any vibrancy. Jabir sighed and stared at an old drawing Rafiki had done one of a hyena looking very shaggy and seemed to be missing an eye. For the first time he noticed something about that hyena, he had seen her in his dream. For a moment he wondered if Rafiki had the very same dream before, something was going to happen.

"Good morning Jabir," said a voice from behind that startled Jabir so badly that he tripped on one of the turtle shells causing them to fly in every direction and quickly getting paint all over himself.

Jabir regained his senses and looked up to find that he shouldn't have been so startled; it was only Conga the advisor.

"Oh were you in meditation already, I didn't mean to scare you," said Conga with a slight chuckle.

"Oh no, I was just staring at a painting too hard I guess," said Jabir as he tried to wipe the paint off of himself.

"Oh I see, I bet you noticed that the tail of one of your lions was too short," said Conga.

"Oh no, it was something different but that's in the past, you are quite early is everything alright?" asked Jabir.

"Oh yes everything is fine, Kiara gave birth last night and she wants you to bless the little cub and reveal it to the pride lands," said Conga.

Jabir gave a small smile, for two months now Kiara had been very excited about her pregnancy even though it would be her third cub. Her first litter was with twins, two boys, and Kiara had hoped that this one would be a girl.

"So is it a female?" asked Jabir.

Conga nodded happily. "And she has something I have never seen in a lion before."

"And what is that?" asked Jabir as he walked over to grab his walking stick, Rafiki's old walking stick.

"She has a black spot on her chest, in the shape of a half crescent moon," said Conga.

Jabir stopped in his tracks, the dream with the cub with the half crescent moon, this did not sound good at all. He would have to see her and then meditate about it later.

"Everything okay?' asked Conga.

Jabir quickly regained his composure. "Yes everything is fine, please take me to her," he said.

Conga nodded and was about to fly off when she remembered something important. "Oh yes and Dad said that the herbs you gave him have done wonders for his sore wings," she said.

"Oh good then I will make him more later today," said Jabir.

Of course Conga was talking about her father Zazu who was getting on in years. His blue feathers were no longer blue any more but more of a bluish gray in color and his wings were often prone to stiffness, arthritis if you will and he just did not have the same youthfulness he had once had.

The two soon reached Pride Rock where Kovu stood waiting near the den for Jabir to arrive. Jabir swiftly swung his nimble feet and legs over the rocks with ease before staring nose to nose at Kovu who stood stock still and a little annoyed by Jabir breathing in his face. After a long awkward silence Jabir spoke.

"So another child has been born?" asked Jabir with a small smile.

"Yes a female too, she was born a few hours ago," said Kovu with a hint of happiness in his voice as he lead Jabir over to the pride.

"Have you named her yet?" asked Jabir.

"Yes we decided to call her Safiya," said Kovu proudly.

"Lovely name, it means pure doesn't it?" asked Jabir.

Kovu only nodded as he tried to keep himself from smiling too hard.

Jabir walked in to find Kiara laying in the middle with her new cub who was sound asleep, the pride all around her. Next to her stood her two twins Haidar and Kijani. The two were almost the spitting image of each other; both were a dark brown color, Kijani just a shade lighter and had a cream colored left hind paw. They were a year and a half old so their manes were still not all the way showing yet. Kijani was scruffier than his brother, mainly because he liked to cause havoc around the pride lands and play with the young carnivores. Haidar was more serious since he was to be the king once his mother and father retired.

Simba and Nala were also among the ones in the group, Simba had ended his reign two years ago and let his daughter lead. His mane was getting slightly gray and his facial features were not as young as they once looked. Nala was just the same, but her eyes still had that beautiful sparkle she had always had.

Perched on Simba's shoulder sat Zazu, the old bird still enjoyed the retired kings company and both enjoyed walks together through the pride lands telling of days of old and wondering what the future would hold.

Pumbaa was also among the pride, Timon had died of old age a few months ago and he was now a new addition to Simba and Zazu's walks about the pride lands. He was very slow these days often making Simba and Zazu stop to rest for a few minutes under a nice shady tree or next to a waterhole. Simba and Zazu did not mind though, they both knew that Pumbaa was taking what was left of his life one step at a time.

Jabir walked closer to Kiara who held her new cub tightly just in case it tried to crawl out of her grasp. Jabir looked down at her and gave her a small pat on the head. Safiya gave a small yawn and opened her eyes a little to see who had touched her, but she quickly lost interest and tucked herself back into Kiara's warm paws.

"May I see her?" he asked.

Kiara nodded and let Jabir pick up the cub. He held her tight as he stared her up and down. She was the same color as her mother a lovely orangish gold with a cream colored stomach but it was the mark on her chest that made Jabir breathless. There it was the half crescent moon shape, the same one in his dream. For a minute he stared hard at it as visions began to haunt his mind. Visions of a hyena and her pack attacking the pride, the cub running to fight against the pride with a white bird on her shoulder, and death in the pride. This did not look good at all.

Jabir's thoughts were quickly interrupted by the cub who then cried for her mother. Jabir shook himself back to reality and gave her to Kiara. Kiara could sense that something was wrong.

"Is there something wrong?" asked Kiara.

Jabir knew he could not hide it, he had to tell them or the pride lands would be in danger. "The marking on her chest, it signifies a prophecy that is about to be foretold. A prophecy where if she falls into the wrong hands, it could mean disaster for your pride and possibly every other pride. For the hyenas are hoping to return and take over," he said.

Simba and Nala both stared at each other with worry, they knew all too well about the hyenas and their horrible ways.

"When will they try to capture her?" asked Kiara.

"That I do not know, once I am finished, I am going to meditate for a while a find out, but I will say this, it is best that I do not present her for there could be spies out there right now waiting to tell the pack about the child," said Jabir.

"So it is best if I leave her here in the cave?" asked Kiara.

"Or have someone accompany her on her outings in the Pride Lands, you know how cubs are, wanting to explore everything around them," said Jabir.

"But what if the hyenas do show up, we could be outnumbered if they want Safiya that bad," said Nala who seemed to be shaking with fear at the thought of hyenas returning to the Pride Lands to take her new granddaughter.

"I do not know but I will think of something as I meditate," said Jabir.

Everyone nodded in agreement while Jabir quickly blessed the child with his mixture of mango's and other fruits. Safiya slept on unaware that the first half year of her life would be a memorable one.

* * *

Jabir returned to the Tree of Life less than an hour later, thoughts kept swimming in his head about the cub and the fate of the Pride Lands, was there any way it could not happen? Jabir stood in front of some branches where Rafiki had done the most of his paintings. There were beautiful images of pride members including a tiny one of Simba which had once been smeared over by Rafiki who had thought he had died. There were some of Timon and Pumbaa and lovely drawing of Zazu which told of his past sorrows. Jabir sighed and leaned his head on the wall.

"If only you were here to help me," he said quietly.

"_Oh but I am,"_ said a voice in his mind.

Jabir looked up wondering where the voice had come from.

"Who's there?" he asked.

"_It is me Jabir your old mentor," _said the voice.

"Rafiki?" he asked.

"_The one and only," _the spirit replied.

"What must I do, I have seen parts of the prophecy and all are not good, I'm afraid for the future," said Jabir.

"_Close your eyes Jabir and listen to me," _Said Rafiki.

Jabir closed his eyes and for a moment all he saw and heard was blackness and silence as if he had become blind and deaf all at once.

"Are you here still Rafiki?" asked Jabir nervously.

"_Keep quiet young apprentice visions take a few minutes to load you know," _said Rafiki with a slight chuckle in his voice. Even though Jabir was now a full shaman, to Rafiki he was still his young apprentice learning something he did not know before.

Jabir waited for quite a while until finally he saw a small light in front of him, it stayed small for a moment until it grew bigger and bigger until it enveloped all around him with a great blindness. But Jabir could not get it out of his mind he could only stand there like a deer in the headlights.

Finally the light quickly vanished and Jabir could see the Pride Lands laid out before him quiet and serene.

"_Look at the Pride Lands the way they are now, but years ago it was bleak and desolate," _said Rafiki.

In one instant the land became a desert with hyenas running about eating anything they could find.

"_Taka had done this, all because the hyenas had poisoned his mind when he was only a year old."_

Jabir watched as Scar was tempted by the hyenas, as he killed his own brother and as he ruled the land without any worry. He watched as Simba defeated Scar so the land could be restored and as the hyenas left to find a better life.

_But the pack still lives on, to the south of here, training many for the possible battle that may occur, the leader is a false shaman and her second in command the grandson of Shenzi and Banzai."_

It showed Hatari listening to the stories that Sauda told, stories that Sauda only knew as half true. Next to Hatari stood a white hornbill, his eyes were as red as fire which showed so much anger and hate that Jabir could not stop looking at him.

"_The white hornbill should be the one to avoid, he will help in the capture, but he will do more than that."_

Jabir watched as Kairu seduced Conga tricking her and laying traps for her as she and Kijani tried to get Safiya back. He watched as Safiya stood on top of an altar as the full moon glowed through a small opening in the ceiling.

"_If they do not make it, then the cub will lead them to victory and a bloody battle will ensue, many lives will be lost."_

"But how will we be able to stop this?" asked Jabir.

"_Protect the cub, try to shatter the prophecy, any misstep can cause a change in it, that could be the best option."_

Jabir watched as the battle ensued, lions fighting with hyenas, Conga fighting Kairu. Blood everywhere and then he saw her, Sauda, with her clouded eye and her scarred feature bending down and ready to deliver a final blow.

Back in reality Jabir jumped up with a jolt breathing heavily and hoping that a single misstep could shatter the prophecy.

* * *

Far to the south Sauda was watching the pride lands from her pool of water with great happiness, the cub had been born and it was time to take action.

"Well well it looks like our future has been born, quite exciting don't you think Kairu?" said Sauda with a hiss.

Kairu perched next to her, the white hornbill grinned happily, he knew he was needed soon and he had been trained the whole four years of his life for this. His red eyes burned bright with excitement.

"Very exciting," he said.

"It looks like its time for you to head out toward the pride lands, study them for six months, Hatari and Migwi will meet up with you when the time comes," said Sauda

"Shall I get rid of the advisor beforehand?" asked Kairu.

"I don't think that would be necessary, let her follow you for a bit after you capture the cub, maybe if you are stealthy enough she won't know that you are a spy and maybe you could kill her without warning, how would you like that?" asked Sauda.

"Sounds like an ingenious plan," said Kairu.

"Good, now do you remember the way to the Pride Lands?" asked Sauda.

"Like the back of my wing," said Kairu.

"Good now go and may your journey have no dangers and no obstacles to overcome," said Sauda.

Kairu only nodded as he spread his wings and took flight out of the hyenas land. It would be a weeklong trip and Kairu could not wait until the six months were up.

* * *

A/N: Blegh. Sorry about this chapter. Not the best I know, but it was nice to see who was still alive and who wasn't. Plus I was trying my hardest not to give anything away while showing Jabir's side of the prophecy, sounded kind of the same though oh well. I hope to have a nice fun chapter up next time just to meet Kijani and see what he is like since he will be one of the main focuses of the story.

So here is the list of names and their meanings.

Kijani: Warrior

Haidar: strong and stout.

Jabir: Restorer (You will see why in a very late chapter)

Safiya: Pure

Well there you go, I hope to have the next chapter up soon so please have a great week and starting in my next chapter I will do a special thing in each chapter where I recommend an author to you guys. Well have a great week.


	3. Kijani

A/N: I just realized something from the last chapter that I did not explain especially since some probably didn't read my profile before I finally put this story up. Conga has been advisor for five years, she returned to her father when she was a year old and was trained for five months to be advisor so she is somewhere around six or seven. Mahiri who will appear finally in this chapter is a year older than her so he's either seven or eight. And as you all know Kairu is four. So yeah just thought it might be good to know in case some of you were wondering.

* * *

A week had passed and Kiara stayed with Safiya night and day, never leaving the cave except to relieve herself or do a quick check of the pride. Kovu took over her duties and reported to her every evening about what he had seen around the land, Simba helped knowing that Kiara was more concerned about the wellness of her cub and the future of the lands.

But Kiara knew that sooner or later she would have to go out and help the pride in hunting and other activities, and Safiya would want to go out and play or explore the land. Haidar one of her twin sons seemed to be a good candidate for watching over his little sister, he was responsible and very watchful but when Kiara asked him if he wanted to he simply told her that he was not ready to deal with kids just yet.

Kiara understood why too, a few months earlier he had been given the job to baby-sit another pridelander's cubs. He had thought they would stay with him and follow where he went. That was not the case, they went everywhere and never together, they usually hid from him on purpose worrying him half to death. So by the end of the day poor Haidar thought he did such a lousy job that he curled up in a corner and cried. Kiara comforted him but he still felt terrible about the whole thing, he also claimed that he was not mature enough to handle kids just yet.

It was one evening where Kiara decided to let Nala watched Safiya while she went outside to think for a little while. She was now debating about having Kijani watch his sister but wasn't sure if he was mature enough to do it. Kijani was more of a free spirit and got in trouble almost every day so she knew that having him watch her when the time came would be quite a chore.

She lay down at the edge of pride rock and looked out over the land, she could see the Tree of Life burn bright knowing that Jabir was still up and performing one of his many mediations. Some creatures were still awake, chasing each other or finding a nice place to sleep for the night. The thought of hyenas ruling the beautiful land made her cringe with worry.

"Kiara?" said a voice from behind that made her jump up in fright. But it was only Kovu.

"Oh Kovu you scared me for a minute," she said.

"I'm sorry, I only came out to check on you," he said.

"I'm fine, I was just thinking," said Kiara who then put her head down on her paws.

"About Safiya?" asked Kovu.

Kiara nodded. "You know she is going to want to explore soon and I can't always be around to help her since I need to help the pride and all that."

"How about I do it?" asked Kovu who puffed up his mane that had grown quite large over the years.

Kiara chuckled before giving him a quick poke in the chest. "It is a good idea but what if an emergency arises and I need you. Plus I also thought about 'jani." Everyone in the pride called Kijani 'Jani it was sort of his nick name.

"But Kijani is always getting into trouble and never around when I need him," growled Kovu knowing full well how his son was always into mischief.

"But perhaps we can make him more mature by becoming responsible," said Kiara.

"Hmmm it could work how about we talk to him tomorrow morning and see what he thinks?" asked Kovu.

Kiara nodded before letting out a big yawn. "I guess its time for a good sleep; we will have a lot to talk about in the morning." Kiara lifted herself up and walked side by side with Kovu back to the den.

Morning arose with Kovu and Kiara escorting Kijani to the top of Pride rock, the whole way he was jumping up and down and running around them like a happy puppy. Kovu had to reprimand him quite a few times but they were usually ignored.

"So why are we going up here any way? Just so you know I am not upset about not being the next king, so you really don't have to tell me the reasons and that everything the light touches is our kingdom," said Kijani as they reached the top.

"Jani that's not why we came up today," said Kovu with a stern voice.

"Oh I thought it was, well can you make it quick, Hondo and I are gonna play hide and seek around the waterhole today," he said still acting like a six month old rather than a one year old.

"If you are good we will now hold still and listen," said Kiara trying to stop him from bouncing with her paw.

Kijani stopped and sat down in front of his parents both looking sternly at him as if he already did something wrong.

"You know your sister will be ready to explore the pride lands in a month or two," said Kiara in a matter of fact voice.

"Oh yeah I know but I bet she will have to stay in the cave because of those evil hyenas huh?" said Kijani who was now bouncing as he was sitting, a very interesting feat for him to do.

"Yes but she will want to explore the outside world too and that's why we were going to appoint you as babysitter," said Kovu.

Kijani's eyes lit up and was about to jump up and down but Kovu quickly stopped him. Kijani quickly cowered before his father and stayed quiet.

"Now do you promise to be responsible and keep watch over her whenever we ask you to?" asked Kovu.

Kijani just nodded, he did not want to get into any arguments at the moment, he just wanted to play.

"Don't nod Jani you have to say it," said Kiara softly.

"I promise I will watch her and keep her safe," said Kijani trying to keep a very stern looking face without looking like he was more interested in the waterhole, he still wanted to watch Safiya but right now Hondo was waiting.

"And don't let her wander too far," said Kiara softly.

"I won't I'll just keep her around the waterhole, everyone loves that place," said Kijani wishing he was there right now.

"And stay out of the outlands or elephant graveyard, there is no telling who is out there lurking ready to hurt your young sister," said Kovu.

"Okay Dad I'm not that dumb. I promise that I will look after her as best as I can," said Kijani getting very annoyed and very anxious.

Kovu rolled his eyes; he didn't remember being this adventurous or as hyper. Kiara sighed; she only hoped that Safiya did not end up like him when she was older.

"Can I go yet please?" He asked.

"Go ahead but please behave, we really don't want to lecture you again like we did two nights ago after that giraffe incident," said Kiara who stepped aside but not fast enough for Kijani quickly bowled her over and ran down the rock as fast as he could and not really listening to the last statement. The two watched him run down shaking their heads.

"I hope he keeps true to his word for if he doesn't, he is going to be in big trouble," said Kovu.

Conga perched on a bush branch that was low enough to the ground and hidden well enough from view so she could listen to what a Thompson's Gazelle had to say about the goings on in the pride lands. The gazelle talked in a low whisper and the way he kept his lips from moving was truly a feat. Conga only nodded as she listened to anything important. High above a nearby tree, Mahiri, the carmine bee eater and Conga's best friend, sat watching the waterhole while at the same time munching on a juicy bumble bee.

"Ya don't say!" said Conga excitedly after a long moment of silence. Mahiri quickly stood up hoping to hear what was being said too. "Ya don't say!" she said again.

After a long moment, Conga quickly thanked the gazelle and flew up to join Mahiri who was excited to hear the interesting new.

"What happened?" asked Mahiri.

"He didn't say," said Conga who then gave a quick laugh, Mahiri only rolled his eyes.

"I've heard that joke way too many times already," said Mahiri who then tossed the last of the bumble bee in his mouth.

"Eh you're right but it was still a nice laugh for a few seconds," said Conga.

Mahiri only nodded as he licked his beak making sure there was no more pieces of bee on him.

"Any way one of the rhinos had twins, can you imagine twins? I thought all rhinos only could have one," said Conga.

"Probably a rare occurrence but that is fascinating, hopefully both will grow big and strong," said Mahiri.

"Yeah and it seems that one of the jackals is enjoying his time teasing all the young elephant calves, I guess Kiara should have a little talk with him," said Conga.

Mahiri gave a quick nod before scanning around the water hole. It was mostly a small herd of gazelle but a few giraffes and a hippo were hanging around as well. Nothing very exciting until something in the bushes caught his eyes.

"Hmmmm I wonder who that could be hiding in those bushes over there," said Mahiri in a sarcastic voice knowing all too well who it might be.

Conga looked to where he was pointing and adjusted her eyes for a moment trying to see what Mahiri was seeing; the bee eater always had better eyesight than her.

"Looks like Hondo, no doubt Kijani is around here somewhere," said Conga.

Hondo was an African wild dog with splashes of white, black and brown all over his body. He looked the perfect picture of someone who had dropped a few cans of paint on him. His fur was very wild looking and was just as much as a trouble maker as Kijani often getting in trouble with his pack that roamed the area.

Conga spoke too soon though for a second later; Kijani revealed himself behind a rock and started to stalk toward Hondo as if he was hunting him. Conga could not resist a quick laugh.

"LOOK OUT HONDO!! HE'S GONNA GET YOU!!!" she said.

Hondo jumped in surprise but it did not startle him too long before he turned around and pinned Kijani to the ground, giving him a big sloppy puppy kiss.

"You're still it!" said Hondo with the wag of his tail.

"Aww and you would be it now if it wasn't for that meddling bird," said Kijani with a growl as he gave Conga a dirty look.

"Oh Jani I was only having fun, can't I have fun too?" asked Conga as she flew down in front of them.

"No way, you are just a majordumbo out to tattle tale on everyone and I'll bet you'll side with Hondo and show him where I am every time," said Kijani.

Conga crossed her wings and gave Kijani her upset look she always gave when something wasn't going her way. "You don't know me very well do you?" she asked.

"Well you do tattle tale about everything that goes on and you have gotten me in trouble about a hundred times," said Kijani.

"Two hundred and twelve to be exact," said Hondo.

Both looked at him confused and surprised.

"Hey I get bored when I'm in time out," he said.

"Well it's for your own good, besides the other days incident with the giraffes would not have been pretty if I did not tell your father before someone got hurt," said Conga.

"No one was going to get hurt, I knew what I was doing," said Kijani.

Conga gave a loud sigh. Kijani just never understood how easy it was to get others injured or startled. But of course he was still a cub and a very rambunctious one at that.

There was a long awkward silence between the four until Kijani suddenly had an idea which he whispered to in Hondo's ear. Hondo then gave a big smirk and started to stifle a laugh.

"What's so funny?" asked Conga.

"Oh nothing we just thought it would be fun to play hide and go seek and you be the one to hide," said Kijani.

"Sounds like fun actually," said Mahiri.

Conga thought for a moment knowing those two were probably up to something but she decided to just go along with it.

"Okay then, how about you both close your eyes and count to thirty, I won't be hiding very far," said Conga.

Kijani and Hondo just nodded while they both covered their eyes with their paws. As soon as Kijani started to count, he winked at Hondo who did a quick peek as to where Conga had flown off to. He saw her land behind a rock.

Once the counting was done the two turned around and stared out at the waterhole.

"Gee I wonder where she has flown off to," said Kijani with a playful voice.

"I wonder if she is behind this bush," said Hondo as he pounced lightly on a bush. "Nope nothing here."

For a few minutes, both pounced on small rocks and bushes pretending they had no idea until Kijani motioned for Hondo to ambush Conga. Hondo then slowly walked behind the rock and waited for just the right moment to pounce while Kijani came in around the other way. Then Kijani leapt up and landed right in front of Conga, Conga jumped up in surprise.

"Found you," said Kijani with an evil grin.

"Ah but you have to catch me first" said Conga who was about to fly off but before she could even spread her wings, Hondo grabbed her.

"You're not going any where yet, we have some fun plans for you," said Kijani.

Conga looked worriedly up at Kijani who had the look of pure mischievousness in his face before motioning Hondo to follow him. High above the trees Mahiri sat and watched from his hiding place not sure whether to help her or just watch from the sidelines he decided to follow and make sure she did not get hurt and if she needed any help, he would go get Kovu.

The two reached an area of the waterhole that was a popular spot for crocodiles and Kijani loved going there to tease them. He then tied Conga to some vines and made her out like a yo-yo. Then, he and Hondo jumped on a large rock where crocodiles liked to bask under. Hondo kicked a small pebble that hit a nearby croc who was trying to sleep after a long night of taking care of his wife's kids. The croc growled under his breath and looked up to see where it was coming from.

"Crikey how's a guy like me supposed to get some beauty rest around here?" he said in a gruff and angry voice.

Hondo smiled and swung Conga back and forth who quickly experienced the feeling of dizziness.

"Oh wait till your fathers hear about this," she said in an angry voice.

"Oh come-on we are just having fun, now smile for the crocodile," said Kijani as he let the vine and Conga fall. It stopped a few feet above the crocodiles who eyed her with great curiosity.

"Oh my isn't that the pride lands majordomo?" asked one.

"Yeah I've always wanted to pluck a few feathers off her," said another.

"Especially after she told Kiara about how I had chased you mates off for not sharing the waterhole," said another.

"But that was a misunderstanding, someone told me the wrong story and I got the story mixed up, I'm really sorry about that," said Conga nervously and at the same time sweating very rapidly.

Suddenly one croc lunged but not fast enough for Kijani who then brought her back up and gave her a sly smile. Conga glared at him and really wanted to peck him in the nose.

Kijani and Hondo only smiled as Kijani let go of the vine again. Conga fell down fast and when she stopped she saw everything in a very dizzy way. The crocodiles only looked up at her longingly with anticipation.

"Please bring me back up I feel very uncomfortable down here," said Conga.

Another Crocodile lunged in the air and grabbed one of Conga's tail feathers while at the same time Kijani brought her back up to the rock. Luckily for Conga she lost only a tail feather that time but it still stung.

"You know you could really kill me by doing this," said Conga who was now angrier than she had been.

"Oh I'm just having a little fun, besides if I wanted you to get killed you would still be down there," said Kijani who then let it fall again but this time when it reached halfway Kovu made an appearance.

Kijani! What in blazes are you doing?" he asked with a roar.

Kijani leapt up and turned around to see his angry father standing behind him with Mahiri on his shoulder.

"Oh nothing Dad, we're just watching the crocodiles," he said nervously.

"yeah they are so much fun to watch as they rip apart prey I mean look at that you wonder if they have suffered a famine or something," said Hondo acting like nothing was happening.

"That's not the story I'm hearing, Mahiri just told me that you are harassing my advisor," said Kovu who now seemed to be tired of his sons shenanigans

"What us?" asked Kijani acting all innocent.

"And what is that behind your back?" asked Kovu.

"Oh nothing," said Kijani.

"Let me see," growled Kovu.

Kijani looked at his father worriedly before pulling up the vine and revealing quite a bedraggled Conga. Some of her feathers were missing and her face was the look of anger and stress.

"You okay Conga?" asked Mahiri worriedly.

"Oh yeah I'm fine just tell the world to stop I want to get off," she said.

Kovu growled at Kijani who only gave a sheepish smile, Hondo had his tail between his legs.

"Hondo go home, Kijani and I have to have a little talk," said Kovu.

"Good luck," said Hondo who raced off with his belly almost to the ground.

Kijani watched his best friend go and then looked up at Kovu who was busy trying to untie Conga out of a knot; once she was free she leaned against Mahiri for support since the world was still spinning for her.

"Don't you have a lick of sense in that brain of yours?" asked Kovu with an angry sigh.

"Aww Dad I wasn't going to hurt her," said Kijani.

"But it was a stupid and dangerous thing to do, if that vine was any longer she could of landed right in front of their teeth and then I would have to find a new advisor to replace and you would have to deal with a very angry father and I don't mean me," said Kovu.

"But I made sure it was short enough for her to be missed and I moved her just in time before the crocs tried to even touch her," said Kijani.

"That is not the point, the point is what you did was dangerous. And I see you don't have any right to watch over Safiya when it is time for her to explore the world, in fact I don't even see you living with the pride once you become mature enough," said Kovu who's roar was now echoing through the waterhole.

"I'm sorry Dad, I didn't know what I was doing was bad, it was just a bit of fun," said Kijani who now had a tear rolling down his eye.

"Your brother will now take care of Safiya and you are grounded to the cave for one week, are we clear on that?" asked Kovu.

Kijani looked over at Conga who was now standing upright and trying to hide her missing feathers but it didn't seem to be working.

"Dad I'm really sorry, I just got carried away and if you give me a chance I bet I can prove to be a good babysitter to Safiya. I promise I will try not to make any mischief and I promise to take good care of her," said Kijani who now had a river of tears falling down his face. He really wanted to be a good brother.

Kovu looked at him sadly, wondering if he was faking it or not but when Kijani kept saying please he knew his troublemaking son was serious and he knew he had to give him a chance.

"Okay if you prove to watch her carefully on her first day out then you can watch her for as long as she needs to be watched. Keep her close and don't loose her because there will be dire consequences if you do," said Kovu.

"I promise I will take good care of her and I won't hurt her," said Kijani with a very sad but important voice.

Kovu gave a deep sigh, his son was such a handful but he tried his best when he needed to be good.

"Okay but you are still grounded for a week, come along now," said Kovu.

Kijani sighed and followed his father back to pride rock, Conga and Mahiri riding on the kings shoulder the whole way as she tried to remember everything that had gone on in the pride lands.

* * *

A/N: sorry that took so long, I've been very busy and got writers block too so I am sorry if this chapter seems out of place anywhere. Hope you all like Hondo I thought it was nice to have a Wild Dog in the story since you don't see them often. And yeah the croc said crikey I had to do a tribute to Steve, I miss him.Well I probably won't update again until December so in the meantime please check out this author.

Her name is Bdlywrttn I think that's how it is spelled but she has a very cute Timon and Pumbaa story and she does not get many reviews and she's nice so check her out. In my next chapter I will give you another author to read, well I hope you all have a nice Thanksgiving I will not update again until the middle of December so see you then.


	4. Baby sitting

A/N: Sorry this is taking so long, I was really busy with final semester classes and now work is going to be really busy for me this Christmas. I can't wait to see what next semester is going to be like. Well on with the story.

* * *

A few months went by with no signs of hyenas or white hornbills. Conga actually appointed Zazu to help her scour the lands for any signs of them. Other pride members helped as well and Kiara urged everyone that if they found a hyena or a white hornbill of any kind to capture them and bring them to her where she would deal with them properly.

No one saw any signs and Kairu believed it was because they were not looking hard enough because he was there and he was watching every move they made. He had actually found a nice bushy area to hide in and Conga even made a couple searches in that spot and did not even see him. With that Kairu believed that she could easily be manipulated when the time was right.

Kiara was so nervous about Safiya that she didn't even tell her that she was part of a prophecy in fear that she might have nightmares. She just simply told Safiya that she was very special and that she did not want anything to happen to her which was mostly true except for the prophecy part.

And to make Kiara more nervous, it was time for Safiya to make her first debut outside of the den. Safiya had begged her for many days to go out until Kiara finally gave in and told her she could do so in the morning. Kijani was warned of this by Kovu who also asked Conga to keep an eye on the two to make sure Kijani was staying with her.

Safiya could not hold her excitement that night and kept everyone up for quite a long time until Kiara warned her that if she kept it up then she was not going outside. That quieted Safiya right up.

Of course the quiet was short lived because as soon as the sun came up, so was Safiya who immediately pounced on Kijani nearly knocking the wind out of him.

"Jani its morning, are you ready to take me out and play with me?" she asked while bouncing like Kijani often did.

Kijani gave a big yawn before stretching a little, since that incident at the water hole, Kijani did not get into trouble that much any more, but sometimes a lot of things could not be passed up.

"Give me about five minutes, go watch the sunrise and I'll be right out," said Kijani.

Safiya smiled and ran out but not before stopping in front of Conga and Zazu's nest who were most likely still asleep. "Auntie Conga! Grandpa Zazu! I'm going outside!" she yelled happily.

Conga awoke with a start at the mention of her name and looked groggily down at Safiya. "You know you were only supposed to wake up Kijani," she said.

"I know but I thought you wanted to come with me and watch the sunrise," said Safiya.

"You need to get up earlier any way Conga, one of these days the morning report will be the afternoon report," said Zazu who was actually used to waking up at this time.

Conga yawned. "Fine, anything for the princess," she said.

Conga slowly flew down and perched on Safiya's shoulder and both made their way to the tip of pride rock as the sun was just coming up with beautiful reds, yellows and a little bit of pink.

"Wow! Look at that, I wonder where the sun comes from any way?" asked Safiya.

"Don't ask me, I'm not Jabir," said Conga. One thing she hated about this early in the morning was someone asking a complicated question like that.

"I should ask him later, do you think I'll meet a giraffe when I am out there?" asked Safiya.

"Sure why not," said Conga who was already getting a little frustrated and falling asleep on Safiya's shoulder.

"You're funny Conga, is it really true that you killed a hawk just by looking at him?" asked Safiya.

"Who told you that?" asked Conga.

"Jani told me, he said that you went after him after he caused a big drought and when you found him you just stared at him and he died, you won't do that to me if I do something wrong will you?" asked Safiya.

Conga looked into the direction of the den where Kijani was walking over with Zazu on his shoulder. Kijani only smiled sheepishly.

"What else was I supposed to tell her?" he asked.

"The truth," said Conga.

"I don't think you want to give her nightmares now, maybe when she is older you can tell her," said Zazu.

"I bet I won't get nightmares," said Safiya.

"That's what you say but you would be surprised," said Conga.

"Was it really that bad?" asked Safiya.

Kijani could tell that Conga was having enough and that it was best to bring Safiya around the pride lands.

"I think you have asked enough, just follow me and I will show you around," said Kijani.

The question quickly forgotten, Safiya raced down the rock with Kijani, even though she had never left the den she still hopped over rocks with the greatest of ease and was actually waiting for her older brother at the bottom.

"So what are you going to show me first?" asked Safiya.

"Well this spot for one," said Kijani as he pointed with his head at some mounds of earth that were covered in grass. Some were still quite large while others were barely a bump since they were so old.

"Are these the ants you keep telling me to watch out for?" asked Safiya.

"No, these are your ancestors," said Kijani.

Safiya looked at the mounds confused unable to understand, Simba had told her about the ancestors and that they were always watching her but he didn't tell her about this.

"I thought our ancestors watched us from above, is this where they go in the daytime since you don't see them at night?" asked Safiya.

"Er kind of, basically what happens is when you die you are buried here and your spirit goes to the sky. And when we die our bodies become the grass that is why there is a lot of grass around here," said Kijani.

Safiya still looked confused.

"What he means is this, when we can no longer live we die and we are given a place to rest and where are bodies become just shell that nourishes the ground and brings back life where it was disturbed, but your spirit leaves that body and becomes part of the stars you see at night," said Zazu.

"But what happens to them in the day?" asked Safiya.

"Well spirits need their rest too," said Zazu.

"Oh I get it now, but what about these small ones, were they tiny kings?" asked Safiya.

Zazu chuckled a little while Conga explained. "Those are young ones like yourself who did not survive for very long, but a few are actually those who helped the pride," said Conga.

"Like who?" asked Safiya.

"Like, well, my mother," said Conga.

"Oh," said Safiya knowing that it was kind of taboo to consider that conversation.

"Well I think we should go visit the waterhole, It will be more fun any way," said Kijani.

Safiya quickly followed her brother, excited to see the infamous waterhole that Kijani had mentioned many times before. Conga and Zazu followed close behind, both determined to make sure Kijani kept Safiya out of harms way.

When they arrived, Mahiri was waiting nearby for Conga who quickly flew over to him to hear any news he may have encountered since he awoke.

"See anything suspicious?" asked Conga.

"Not lately though I think I saw the white hornbill last night," said Mahiri.

"Where?" asked Conga with a hint of excitement.

Well I was just getting ready to settle down for some shut eye when saw something move over there, it was brighter than any other animal I had seen, I think he saw me watching him once because he looked this way," said Mahiri as he pointed to a spot on the edge of the waterhole where a lot of butterflies had congregated because of the sweet mud they liked to drink.

Conga, Zazu and Mahiri flew over to look at the area and sure enough there were fresh hornbill tracks.

"So he was here," said Conga as she brushed her wing over the tracks.

"Perhaps he was just flying by, maybe he does not know she lives here," said Zazu with a nervous voice.

"Lets hope so I really don't want that prophecy to come true, even if I am not even part of it," said Mahiri.

"Me either though Jabir said it was inevitable but Shamen can be wrong, remember when Rafiki predicted a drought and it never happened?" exclaimed Conga.

"Yeah but Rafiki was getting on in years and he disappeared after that," said Mahiri.

Conga nodded reluctantly, Mahiri was right and Jabir had even believed that it probably would not happen.

Their pondering was quickly interrupted by Safiya who came bounding up covered in mud. "Did you guys find this pretty bird here?" she asked. Safiya had never met Mahiri before.

"No Safiya this is a friend of ours, his name is Mahiri," said Conga.

"Hi Mahiri, what kind of bird are you, I thought Conga was pretty but you must be prettier than her especially since you don't have a nasty scar on your shoulder," said Safiya.

"Hey scars are cool you know, look at your dad, he's the king and everyone looks up to him without fear, not like you should get one. But we are getting off the subject, I am a bee eater I eat bees," said Mahiri.

"Cool have you ever gotten stung?" asked Safiya.

"When I was younger just learning to fly but haven't in years," said Mahiri.

"Neat," said Safiya who was then quickly grabbed by Kijani.

"My goodness you are a handful, what did you guys find?" asked Kijani as he tried to keep Safiya in his grasp.

"Just some hornbill tracks Mahiri says he may have seen the white hornbill last night around here," said Conga.

"Oh dear that's not good," said Kijani.

"No it's not so we need to be extra careful," said Conga.

While the conversation went on, Safiya quickly wiggled out of Kijani's grasp. Kijani tried to grab her but she gave a sneaky smile and began to run.

"Safiya get back here," yelled Kijani with worry.

"I will once you catch me first," said Safiya.

Kijani growled and ran after her, for a young cub she really was fast. Conga, Zazu, and Mahiri followed him.

Safiya did not go too far, in fact she ran over to a bushy area and decided to hide in it maybe even pounce on her brother when he came close, oh what fun that would be!

Safiya watched as he came closer, twitching her tail excitedly and grinning with satisfaction.

But before she could even think about getting ready for the pounce, she heard a rustle in the bushes behind her. For a moment she ignored it until the rustling became louder. She turned around slowly and jumped back at the sight. It was a hornbill, but not just any hornbill like Conga or Zazu, this one was totally different, it was white and its eyes were redder than any sunset she had ever seen. For a moment she stood stiff with fright not sure whether to run or if to make friends with it.

"Shouldn't you be with your parents?" It asked in a gruff voice as it hopped closer to her, his eyes seemed to get redder by the minute.

Safiya slowly started to back away and suddenly the white hornbill began to glow and as if out of a dream he turned into a monster. His mouth was full of razor sharp teeth, his eyes and feathers turned to fire. Safiya was seeing for the first time her powers but she did not know this a screamed with fright before running out of the bush, almost knocking over her brother who was just about to pounce on her.

"Hey where are you going now, get back here," said Kijani who quickly followed behind her.

Conga was about to follow but saw something move out of the corner of her eye, she turned around and there she saw the white hornbill and he saw her. Both stared at each other for a moment, startled at their discovery. Kairu quickly knew though that if he stood there long enough he would be captured and knew he had to fly and that is exactly what he did. Conga was quickly right behind him.

Kijani was still racing after Safiya who was heading straight toward Pride Rock, at first he thought she was playing a game but she never even slowed down for him and he knew that something was wrong. Even Mahiri and Zazu who had followed Kijani could not keep up with her.

They finally reached Pride Rock where Kiara was standing outside speaking to Nala about an upcoming hunt. Her meeting was quickly distracted by Safiya who nearly plowed her over and clung to her tightly.

"Safiya what are you doing here?" asked Kiara as she tried to get her breath back.

Safiya did not answer but began to cry heavily. Kiara looked up at Nala who looked out at the savanna for Kijani; he was just below them trying to climb up after that long run.

"What did you do to her?" asked Kiara with a serious and worried tone.

"I didn't do anything, I was just playing with her and she goes off and hinds in a bush. I decided to stalk her and she was facing the other way when I did this. And just when I was about to pounce she screams and runs straight over here and that was all the way by the waterhole, I don't think I even scared her," said Kijani.

"You didn't," said Safiya who was finally pushing herself away from her mother. "It was a hornbill like Conga and Zazu but he was white, and had burning red eyes. Suddenly his feathers turn to fire and his mouth gets covered in razor sharp fangs. It was so scary."

Kiara and Nala looked down at her startled and then looked around for Conga. "Where's Conga?" asked Kiara.

"She was with us," said Zazu who was also looking around.

"Maybe she saw him and went after him," said Mahiri.

"Lets hope nothing bad happens to her, can you two get Jabir?" asked Kiara.

"I would but my wings are really exhausted from that fast fly," said Zazu as he massaged them, plus Jabir had even told him to take it easy on his sore wings.

"I'll do it," said Mahiri.

"Thank you Mahiri, tell him it is very urgent too," said Kiara.

"Yes Ma'm," Mahiri said before taking flight and headed toward the tree of life.

Conga had reached the outlands in her pursuit of Kairu who seemed to show no sign of tiring but she was not going to give up, she wanted to know where he was from and if there were any hyenas with him. Maybe if she was lucky she would capture him and then perhaps interrogate him on what his group was planning.

Finally Kairu stopped and perched himself on a termite mound, Conga noticed this and perched nearby not sure how safe it was to be close to him.

"Ah wise moves, I can see you know better than attacking at the wrong moment, it could prove fatal," said Kairu.

"Where are the hyenas?" asked Conga who was in no mood for a conversation about fighting.

"In the south where they belong, but they should be here to take over soon don't worry about that," said Kairu.

"Well if you do go back, tell them that we are ready and that they shouldn't even try to mess with us," said Conga.

"Ah you think so, just so you know, I have been here almost as long as the child has and none of you have noticed my existence until now. As you can see we are very stealthy so I suggest you watch your backs, we will come unexpectedly," said Kairu his voice cold and dangerous, Conga knew he was trained to fight; he looked much stronger than she thought.

"Then we will hire border patrols then, anything to keep you all off our land," said Conga.

Kairu grunted, Conga sure was brave to be thinking that kind of stuff especially when he knew that the hyenas would outnumber the pride especially now that two packs had joined them in their quest to get the pride lands back.

"Good luck keeping them alive," said Kairu with menace in his voice.

"I love how you think you are so tough, but we are prepared you know, just watch," said Conga.

"And you think you are so clever with your ideas, I find that to be a disadvantage, you better stop thinking those things, it could get you killed. Think more cunningly, then you may win this war," said Kairu who then took flight without waiting for a response.

Conga stood there for a moment wondering what Kairu had told her, would cleverness really get her killed. It was hard to figure out but perhaps if she spoke to Jabir maybe he would find the answers.

Conga knew she had to get back, Mahiri and Zazu were probably wondering where she went. She would come back empty winged but she would also come back with information about what the white hornbill was like and perhaps some new strategies in protecting the pride lands.

Two days later, Kovu and Kiara had created allies with the carnivores of the land. The wild dogs promised to help them if war ever had to occur, the jackals promised to watch for anything strange. Conga enlisted Mahiri and her father to watch the skies and the ground for any signs of hyenas or Kairu. The pride thought it was perfect protection. They would soon find out how hard it was going to be.

* * *

A/N: Again sorry that took forever and sorry it wasn't that great, just thought it was nice to meet Safiya and don't worry the next chapter will have more action in it. I hope to have it up faster than the last few times but I doubt it since I'm busy and all that. And I know I will not have the next chapter up until after Christmas so Merry Christmas everyone hope you all have fun.

Oh yeah and before I forget its time for me to tell you about an author you should all check out. She's only done two chapters so far and it just explains the beginning of the Lion King but that's okay because the way she explains everything is beautifully done. Her name is Weavers. So check her our and give her nice reviews.

See you all later.


	5. Ambush

A/N: Blah blah blah, yakkety smackety blah blah blah. I wonder how many of you will recognize that line from an old cartoon in the early nineties, yay cartoons.

* * *

Two more months went by and Safiya was kept under close watch. After the first meeting with Kairu, Kiara seemed very determined to keep Safiya at pride rock at all times. But Safiya was a curious sort and didn't really like the idea much. Kijani was a good brother though keeping a close eye on her along with Hondo who enjoyed playing with a cub much younger than himself.

Jabir had watched the cub many times as well while she was playing from a nearby tree, sometimes with Conga, Zazu and Mahiri watching with him. Meditation was an important daily ritual for him now as he often hoped that Rafiki would come to him and help give him a better understanding of the prophecy. But it only happened a few times and Rafiki would only say that the child needed to be watched. Usually those meditations often ended with him fighting with the Pride Landers before returning to the present all sweaty and nervous.

Kairu had not been seen in the Pride Lands since the last encounter he had with Conga, and he made sure that he was not to be seen. Instead he stayed in the outlands watching for any signs of hyenas or watching a stray lioness prowl nearby looking for food. It was a nice vantage point though not as nice as his original one. He just didn't really want to deal with Conga at the present time.

It was one evening though when he was getting a drink from a small puddle after a rainstorm that a familiar face flew toward him. He had not seen him in the last six months and Kairu was quite happy to learn that his time spying was finally over.

"You've finally arrived I see," said Kairu who showed no smile but the same distant stare that he often gave others.

"Yes we are finally here, Sauda knew you would be bored by now," said Migwi as he flapped his wings a little.

"And where are the others?" asked Kairu looking over his shoulder for any signs of hyenas.

"They are a few minutes behind, I'm just too fast for them," said Migwi with a smirk.

"How many did you bring?" asked Kairu.

"Four, Hatari of course, Damu, Mooza, and Rugar, all trained to be stealthy and quick," said Migwi.

"Good we are going to need that, they spotted me once and now it seems the entire lands are looking for me, but I kept myself well hidden this time, it's been two months since they did see me," said Kairu.

Migwi only nodded before bending over to get a drink for himself, it had been a long journey and he was quite tired after a long day of finally arriving to his destination.

As he drank, Kairu could see four pairs of eyes watch him from behind a rock. For a few moments he pretended they were not there until Hatari emerged looking quite glad to see him.

"So there you are," said Kairu without a second glance.

Hatari smirked and then turned around and nodded to the other three who slowly appeared out of hiding.

"So what are the pride lands like?" asked Hatari.

"Nice and green and I like the rock where you can see everything, haven't been able to go on it but I know we will someday," said Kairu.

"Is it really as great as they say it is?" asked Rugar the youngest of the bunch but had a bite that was worse than a crocodiles.

"Probably even better, I think it would be better for you guys to decide for yourselves," said Kairu.

"Are there lots of zebra? I really like zebra," said Mooza the only female in the group.

"A nice amount," said Kairu.

"Sounds lovely already," said Damu. "I think we should attack now and get it over with."

Damu was about to walk over and get a drink when Hatari stopped him with his paw. "You always think too quickly, you are forgetting that they outnumber us now, we would be turned to kibble if we did it now," he said with a growl before giving Damu a quick bite. Damu whimpered in pain and lowered himself as he let Hatari drink first.

Hatari quickly lapped up the water and then looked over at Kairu who was waiting for any orders or any more questions.

"So do you think we could attack during the day when the child is playing?" he asked.

"Possibly if you were quiet enough," said Kairu.

"Perhaps we could eliminate whoever was watching her," sneered Migwi as he showed his sack full of poison.

Kairu nodded. "That would probably be the best option but then there is that advisor, we could always find a way to distract her or something," he said.

"Good thinking, she would probably fly off and tell the whole pride what is going on," said Migwi.

"Then we are going to have to come up with a few strategies," said Hatari as he rubbed his paws together hoping that his ingenious plan that he had suddenly thought of would work.

Hatari then ordered everyone to join him in a small cave where they would stay and make preparations for their plans.

* * *

Three days later, Kijani sat by the waterhole watching Safiya chase a butterfly. Hondo was nearby splashing on the edge and even Simba and Pumbaa were having some nice quiet time. Of course that did not last long with Hondo making the most ruckus.

"Oh boy I guess the waterhole isn't what it used to be," said Simba.

"I remember when I would lie here for hours and life would be perfect and there would be no noise, save for the occasional elephant or my gas," said Pumbaa with a grin.

Simba gave him a weird look before jumping up to stretch. "Do you want to go with me to that nice shady spot and rest there for a few hours," asked Simba.

"Nah I'm fine, I'll get used to the noise soon," said Pumbaa.

"Suit yourself," said Simba who then trotted away. Pumbaa watched him leave before settling back down and watching Safiya chase the butterfly.

Kijani smiled at his little sister as she pounced at it only inches away before laughing as it fluttered into the air.

"Hey Kijani!" yelled Hondo as he ran up and sprayed mud all over his small mane.

"What is it Hondo?" asked Kijani as he shook the mud off his mane.

"I just saw a frog," Hondo said happily knowing how he and Kijani loved to chase them and hop around just like them for a little while.

Kijani looked back at his little sister, she was still busy having fun with the butterfly, she would be alright for a few minutes, besides Pumbaa was there too. So with a flick of his tail he was off into the long reeds ready to play a few games of leap frog.

A few miles away the four hyenas and the two birds stood under a bush waiting for their moves go ahead as planned.

"Now remember, Migwi, Rugar, Damu and I are going to capture the cub, Migwi will kill whoever is watching her. Kairu and Mooza will both stay here, this spot will be our check point and where we run as fast as we can when we get here, got it?" asked Hatari.

Everyone nodded in unison.

"Good now when I say its time to go, we will make a break for it," said Hatari who was then distracted by some noise above him. It was Conga and Zazu both enjoying a late morning chat.

"Hmmmm, perhaps we can change our plans a little," Hatari said as he looked up at the pair.

"It's that stool pigeon and his daughter that Sauda always told us about," said Rugar.

"Yes it is, I cannot believe the old one is still alive, especially after living around the time of my grandparents and telling on them too," said Hatari.

"Should we do something about them?" asked Migwi.

Hatari stood there in thought for a moment he had a few ideas about what to do, mainly to Zazu and he didn't want Conga in the way.

"Hmmm someone needs to distract her, I bet only two can go out and get the cub, while another distracts his daughter while Kairu and I do some interfering, payback if you will for my grandparents" said Hatari.

"I can distract her," said Mooza.

"Good idea, don't do it until I say so though, will Rugar and Damu be okay together with Migwi?" Hatari asked.

"You can count on us sir," said Damu.

"Good now wait for my signal," said Hatari.

Back at the waterhole, Kijani and Hondo had totally forgotten about Safiya now and were both enjoying their new game of leapfrog. Luckily for them, Pumbaa was well aware of the situation and decided it was best to watch Safiya until their return.

"So princess have you had enough of that butterfly yet?" asked Pumbaa.

Safiya gave the butterfly another pounce; the poor thing now had some very crinkled wings and could barely fly.

"Well the pouncing wasn't as hard as it was," she said sadly.

"Well you have caught it a few times, I think the poor thing is now exhausted," said Pumbaa.

Safiya let it go and watched as it crawled a little before trying to fly and then landing in a heap. Safiya nudged it on, but it only moved a little before fluttering some more in the dust.

"I guess I don't know my own strength," she said.

"Well if you are done with it, may I have it?" asked Pumbaa.

Safiya only nodded and tossed the butterfly over to the old warthog before becoming distracted by something that moved in some nearby bushes, Pumbaa quickly grabbed it and ate it.

"Now where did you run off to this time, Safiya?" asked Pumbaa as he waddled over to the bushes to catch up to her, he was about to peer in when he came nose to nose with a hyena. It was Rugar and he was smiling ear to ear and showing his razor sharp teeth. Pumbaa backed up a little shaking with fright.

"She's right with us," said Rugar as he jumped out, Damu was right behind him holding onto Safiya so she would not scream or run away.

"You give her back!" said Pumbaa in a panic trying hardest to be brave while at the same time looking around for Simba, hoping he had noticed something or even Kijani for that matter.

Both the hyenas laughed while Pumbaa continued to look around in panic for someone to help him. There was no sign of any one and for some reason his mouth was too dry to yell for help. He knew that the only possible way was to run and find someone. He turned around to run but suddenly stopped short when he saw a dark figure swoop down toward him.

* * *

Back at the rendezvous sight, Mooza had successfully distracted Conga who had decided to run off and pursue him and see where he may be hiding in. Almost as soon as Conga disappeared, Kairu was able to sneak behind Zazu and knock him to the ground where Hatari's sharp fangs lay in wait to extract some revenge.

"Looks like the great advisor is now nothing but a pile of dirt," said Hatari as he threw the old hornbill to the ground for the third time.

"What's this all about?" asked Zazu for of course the third time wondering why he was receiving such a painful beating.

"Ah you don't remember the times when you told on my grandfather and grandmother and had Mufasa beat him up for entering the territory, but I guess you can't remember since that old mind has melted away," said Hatari with a growl before shaking Zazu like a rag doll and dropping him hard on the ground.

"I do remember and I was only doing what I was supposed to do," said Zazu as he spat on the ground from the blood in his mouth.

"You know you could have ignored them a few times, they were probably starving," said Hatari as he let Kairu have a go, the white hornbill gave Zazu a quick hard peck on his back before pinning him with his claws.

"Yeah and then kill a lion cub," said Zazu angrily, he wanted to fight back but he was not as young as he once was and he wouldn't have a chance.

"Oh my, us poor hyenas always getting a bad rap," said Hatari in a sarcastic tone. The leader then lifted a heavy paw and swung down hard.

* * *

A/N: Oh boy I love cliffhangers! What? You don't like them? Tough, then go away and have some green eggs and ham, what you don't like green eggs and ham? What is wrong with you people? Any way you are probably wondering what some of these names mean.

Damu: Blood

Mooza: Sulky

Rugar: I'm not sure you will have to consult Rugar/lion Roog/Roogy to find out about that one. He wanted to be in the story so I made him a hyena and he better like it.

Any way don't worry, one of those two will still be alive in the next chapter, but will they live to see the end of the story, I'm not telling. Just review or something, and check out other people, I'm too lazy to find a person for you so just pick one. Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon, but knowing how I've become a procrastinator lately, I doubt it. Okay I luv you buh bye.


	6. Getting started

A/N: Faboo! Enjoy the chapter.

* * *

"You are a disgrace to this family, I cannot believe you decided to go gallivanting with that…that…freak of a wild dog, he's a bad influence on you!" Kovu yelled at Kijani, the king was furious with his son for failing to baby sit Safiya who was now many miles away from the pride lands being taken away by the hyena clan.

Kijani stood in front of his father, letting the blows hit him, he knew he had done something wrong and he knew better than to talk back. The pride surrounded him listening to Kovu's words; Kiara wanted to support her son but knew that Kovu did not like it when someone was on another side so she kept quiet.

"Now Pumbaa is dead because of you, if you would have watched Safiya, then Pumbaa would still be with us and Zazu would probably be well off as well," said Kovu fuming. His mane was in disarray and the scar on his eye made him look even more dangerous than he was.

"Kovu!" a stern voice called from behind the cave. It was Jabir who was busy administering to Zazu, Conga and Mahiri stood beside him. Conga stood there with tears rolling down her eyes while Mahiri watched nervously. He was the one who had found Zazu's broken body lying in the grass; Mahiri was in such shock by it that he had not talked since calling Conga over.

"What Jabir!" asked Kovu angrily, he was not in the mood to listen to anybody.

"I know how you were raised when you were young, and I know that right now, you are acting just like your mother. You need to let your son talk and let others take sides," said Jabir who did not even look up from what he was doing.

"But he promised to watch her and keep her out of harms way, how can you trust someone when they break a promise," growled Kovu his voice slightly calmer.

"And how can you trust someone who is still an adolescent to follow those rules, adolescent's minds wander just like any cub, you cannot expect him to act like an adult every second," said Jabir.

Kovu looked down at Kijani who now had tears running down his face, he felt terrible and wanted to make it all better. But he knew it was too late to even try. Pumbaa was dead poisoned by a single thorn to his chest and Zazu probably did not have much time left.

"Even apprentice's make mistakes, I know I did," said Jabir.

"And Conga…did as well," said Zazu who could barely even lift himself up to say anything.

"Keep quiet, these injuries are very severe," said Jabir.

"And Dad wasn't even near where Kijani was playing so don't blame him for hurting my father, I would have helped him but I was tricked, they are a smart clan, they knew what they were doing," said Conga.

"And I suppose, Hondo is part of them then?" asked Kovu with hate in his voice looking down at Kijani.

This really angered Kijani, Hondo had been his friend since he was four months old, he had trusted him for years and he was just as surprised to see Pumbaa dead as Kijani was. Kijani then leapt up and roared something he had never done.

"You have never liked Hondo from the beginning, just because he is different, I'll bet. I trust him, he has been my only friend, not like you who seems to be my enemy, always treating me like dirt and telling me I'm a nobody since I won't be king like my brother. You need to give me a chance, I watched her for a long time now and I did a good job, and like Jabir said I'm an adolescent I can't be perfect all the time," said Kijani as he growled and spat when he raised his voice.

Kovu was taken aback and stood there in shock, Kijani had never said anything like that before and now he was speechless. He looked over at Jabir who did not look up from treating Zazu but he could tell that Jabir was proud of Kijani finally showing his feelings.

"Well said brother," said Haidar who then rubbed his mane against Kijani's his way of showing he was supporting him.

"But what should we do now that Safiya is in the hands of the enemy?" asked Kiara looking down on the floor, she had been quite shocked to find out that her child was now missing.

"The only thing you can do," said Jabir glancing up at them. "Send Kijani to find her."

Kijani gasped and looked at Jabir worriedly; he was not expecting to be sent away himself, especially after loosing her already.

"Why me?" he asked.

"Because the prophecy says so," said Jabir simply.

"But I lost her once, why would the prophecy want me to go after something like that?" asked Kijani.

"That I will not say, perhaps it's a way of redeeming yourself and showing your father how you can become the lion he wants you to become," said Jabir who glanced at Kovu who was looking at the floor ashamed of himself now.

"But I don't want to be the lion my father wants me to be," sad Kijani.

"Maybe it means something else then," said Jabir.

"So am I going alone?" asked Kijani.

"No, there is no way you can handle it alone, that is why Conga and Mahiri are going with you," said Jabir.

At the sound of her name Conga looked up from watching her father and she was definitely in no mood to travel, not when her father needed someone with her.

"Me? But I need to be with Dad, just in case, he probably does not have much time left does he?" she said with a small tear running down her face.

"I'm afraid not, he has a lot of internal damage and some broken bones, but I sense he will still be here when you get back," said Jabir.

Conga looked down at Zazu, his back was toward her and she could see his chest slowly rise and fall, it looked painful to her especially after Jabir found out that three ribs were broken.

"Just go Conga, I promise I will still be here to see you one more time," said Zazu without lifting his head to look at her.

Conga looked over at Mahiri, who nodded; he agreed with Conga and knew they both had to go.

"Plus who is going to stop that white hornbill from being so evil?" asked Jabir with a smirk.

"But who will do morning report duties, or any advising for that matter?" asked Conga knowing how important those were and how Kovu enjoyed listening to her daily.

"I could do it, I may not be stealthy like a bird but I'm good at pretending not to listen," said Simba with a smirk. He was surprisingly cheerful for someone who had lost another father figure.

"I guess I will go then," said Conga with a sigh, she didn't like it but whatever the prophecy said she would have to follow it.

"But Kijani, Conga, and Mahiri are not the only ones who are going," said Jabir.

"Who else?" asked Kiara who looked around at the pride.

"She's not in this pride," said Jabir as he looked at Kovu giving him a slight hint.

"You mean Vitani?" asked Kiara.

Vitani no longer lived in the pride lands but in the next pride over, she was Queen to the King of the land whose name was Itimu, a kind ruler who mostly kept to himself but was still willing to share his problems or trade lionesses with the pride lands. His land was known as the Misty Lands because of how often fog would envelope it.

"Close but she is a member of that pride," said Jabir.

"Who is it?" asked Kovu who had met many pride members when he first came to see Vitani after she left.

"Just ask King Itimu for the 'graceful antelope', he will know who you are talking about," said Jabir.

"How is she important in this quest?" asked Kijani.

"Perhaps to create allies and to have help on your journey, one young lion cannot stop a whole hyena clan," said Jabir.

Kijani looked at the pride who had taken care of him since the day he was born; they all looked at him with hope even though he was the one who messed it up in the first place. Kijani then looked down at the floor, ready to cry because he suddenly felt so alone and wasn't sure if he could do it. That was when he felt a warm mane rub up against his shoulder, he looked up to see his twin, his perfect double Haidar standing there and smiling.

"I have faith in you, I know you can do it," he said with pride.

"But I've never done anything right in my life," said Kijani with a heavy sigh.

"You've taken care of Safiya this far, I bet you can get her back," said Haidar.

"But why can't you do it, your more responsible than I am and you would probably do it faster too," said Kijani.

Haidar was about to say something when he saw Jabir's stick meet Kijani's head. Kijani gave out a loud growl before looking up at the shaman in an annoyed way.

"For someone who is a troublemaker he sure can give up easily," said Jabir.

"I guess after loosing her I feel like a failure," said Kijani.

"Ah but being a failure can be fixed, now I want you to go straight to the misty lands and get that 'graceful antelope' once you have found her come to the tree of life and I will give you the details on how to get to the hyena clans home," said Jabir who then pushed Kijani out of the den so he could start his way to the misty lands.

* * *

It was late morning when Kijani arrived at the border of the misty lands. He had traveled all night but he was not alone, Conga and Mahiri came with him though he did have to give Conga some persuasion to come along, she wanted to be with Zazu all night but Zazu even said he felt uncomfortable having someone watch him while he tried to hardest to recover. They had traveled in silence most of the night; Kijani did not mind he actually liked the company.

When they arrived at the border, Kijani sniffed the air and looked around.

"You guys smell anything?" he asked.

Conga gave a short sniff and nodded. "I smell something, but it's not the pride, might be giraffe, or zebra."

"I guess I will have to cross and look around, I'm glad I got to meet Itimu a few months ago or he would have my neck before I explained anything," said Kijani.

Kijani cautiously crossed the border and wandered near it for a few minutes, after a long time, he realized that the pride had not been through there in almost three days, they were somewhere in the central part.

Kijani then made a quick sprint toward the deepest part of the lands hoping to run into someone and hoping that someone was Itimu.

A few hours later, Kijani, Conga and Mahiri arrived at a waterhole, Kijani was quite glad he had found it; he had been thirsty since he arrived so he bent down and took a quick drink.

"Uh Kijani," said Conga.

"What?" asked Kijani as he looked up at her.

"There's a lioness over there," she said.

Kijani looked up and saw a young lioness from across the waterhole, watching him. She was a light grey color with white paws and chest. For a moment both adolescents stared at each other until Conga decided to break the silence.

"Where is King Itimu?" she yelled.

The lioness then gave a quick growl before running away back into the grassland.

"Aw great you scared her," said Kijani.

"Well you were just standing there all dumbfounded, I had to break the ice, now lets follow her, maybe she will lead us to the pride," said Conga who flew ahead, Mahiri behind her. Kijani stood there for a moment before running after her.

"Wait, I don't mean any harm, I want to talk to the king I am a member of the pride lands, your queen is our kings sister," yelled Kijani trying his hardest to catch up to her but she was quite fast for a lion.

Finally after what seemed like forever, Kijani finally caught up with her but it was only because she had arrived at the misty lands den. There stood Itimu, he was lying on a round rock that was shaded by a large acacia tree, beside him stood Vitani in all her glory and nearby was the rest of the pride, mostly lionesses and many cubs. The grey lioness ran up to Itimu and pointed toward Kijani which caused the young lion to stop and wait to see what would happen. Itimu looked at him before stalking off the rock and walking toward him, Vitani trailing behind.

Itimu was around the same age as Kovu and had been ruling for quite a long time; since he was only two after his father died of old age. His father had a lot of problems trying to get his family to conceive and once Itimu was finally born, there was much rejoicing for the pride. Itimu was about the same color as Kovu only slightly lighter and his mane was a dark grey, he was an interesting sight to see but still quite a lovely king.

"Kijani, its good to see you again, but why are you here without your father or even your mother for that matter," said Itimu

"Is everything okay?" asked Vitani in a worried tone.

"Mom and Dad are fine, it's Safiya," said Kijani still trying to get his breath back after running.

"Oh no they kidnapped her didn't they?" Asked Vitani who had heard about the story from Kovu shortly after Safiya was born.

"Yes and I was told to come here because we need someone from this pride to help me find her," said Kijani.

"Well we would be happy to help, just pick someone and I bet if you find the right one you will get her back," said Itimu who then showed him his pride all watching him and wondering if he would pick the right one.

"They all look good but Jabir specifically asked me for the one known as 'the graceful antelope' do you know what I am talking about?" asked Kijani.

"Why yes, she was actually the one you were chasing, Hawla come over," said Itimu who called the grey lioness over. "This is actually my sister's daughter and Jabir was right to pick her, she is good at tracking and very fast as you can tell."

"Sorry for running off like that, I had never met you before," said Hawla shyly.

"It's okay, that was actually smart of you," said Kijani politely.

"So you want me to go with you to find your sister?" she asked with a confused look.

"Yeah it sounds crazy to me to but that's what Jabir said and I guess you have to listen to those crazy shamans," said Kijani.

"To tell you the truth, I'm actually glad, I've wanted to explore past the lands for many months now, though I am surprised its with the kings troublemaking son, tell me, you didn't have to be watching her when she was kidnapped," Hawla said with sudden spite.

Kijani was taken aback and even Conga who was surprised by her sudden attitude.

"As a matter of fact I was, I had been watching her for many moons, I just thought someone else would watch her for a quick few minutes," said Kijani hoping to sound like he was tough and ready to keep the lioness from pushing him around.

"And let me guess, the one who watched her didn't know and left her where she was?" asked Hawla.

"No he was killed, and he fought bravely," said Kijani with an air of dignity. Of course no one knew if Pumbaa fought back or not, they just knew he was killed by poison.

"Well I am glad someone had some responsibility, are you ready to go then?" asked Hawla who then turned her tail to him.

"Actually we need to get back to the pride lands, Jabir wants to give us an outline of where we are going," said Kijani.

Hawla said nothing but only sniffed at him before walking ahead back to the pride lands. Kijani sighed and was about to follow when Itimu stopped him.

"Tell Kovu that if he has any problems to send someone to get me, I would be happy to help especially if the hyenas decide to fight back," he said.

"Thank you your majesty, and I will bring your niece back safe and sound I promise," said Kijani hoping to give Hawla a sign that he did care, of course she was out of earshot now to hear anything.

Itimu only nodded as he let the young lion go. Kijani then sprinted toward Hawla who was now many yards away. Conga and Mahiri flew behind hoping to catch up.

"So you've wanted to have an adventure for a while huh?" Kijani asked once he caught up to Hawla.

"Yes and you better not slacken off, your sister and the lions lives are at stake and you are not going to ruin it, I don't even get why they hired you to find her when you lost her in the first place," said Hawla.

Kijani stood there bewildered, one minute, she was shy, another minute she was kind and now all of a sudden she was the biggest bitch Kijani had ever met. Conga and Mahiri perched on each of his shoulders both wondering the same thing.

"Looks like we are going to have an interesting character with us on the journey," said Conga.

"Hee hee, to tell you the truth, she reminds me of you when you were younger," said Mahiri with a grin.

Conga gave Mahiri a cold icy stare that caused Mahiri to lower himself Kijani only growled.

"Guys I will not have fights since I sense I will have a lot with her, you two are friends and need to stay that way," said Kijani.

"Sorry," said Mahiri who just looked up at the sky like nothing happened.

"I do know one thing though, it will be a difficult journey, but I will make sure that I can become a better lion, in my Dads, and everyone else's eyes, even if it kills me," said Kijani who then slowly walked as far back behind Hawla as possible, back to the pride lands.

* * *

A/N: Hmmm I kinda liked this chapter; a little uneven in some parts but still different. Yeah I know still not much action but I hope to have some in about two chapters from now. I hope you all enjoyed it any way. Now some name meanings.

Hawla: Graceful antelope. Yeah I know lame.

Itimu: Spear

And now it is time for me to suggest a good writer that not many people know about, let me see here, oh yes she hasn't done anything in a while but her stories are still very good. Her name is Atricesparrow and her Memories of Youth story is very good, so try to check her out, I bet you all will like her.

Any way School starts in a week but I have night classes so maybe I won't be too busy and update regularly, I guess I will have to see. Have a nice week guys and don't forget to review please.


	7. How to save a life

A/N: Well I think it's a good idea to leave authors notes on the bottom from now on; I'm out of ideas now. Well currently any way.

* * *

The sun had just set over the horizon by the time Kijani, Hawla, Conga, and Mahiri finally returned from the misty lands. Hawla had set a fast pace the entire way, causing Kijani to fall into a heap by the time he reached the tree of life. Sure he was more active than most adolescents but not for long periods of time especially out in the heat of the day.

"You gonna be okay?" asked Conga as she hopped down on his nose.

"Yeah I'll be fine as soon as my breath returns," he said with a huff.

For a moment Conga thought about getting some water for him, but the thought quickly dissipated when Jabir arrived with a small gourd of water. Kijani smiled happily and opened his mouth to receive the tasty water but instead got drenched by Jabir. The young baboon chuckled before jumping back up the tree.

"Stop wasting your time young ones its time for me to show you the way," he said.

Kijani shook himself while Conga and Mahiri flew up the tree, Hawla was next as she nimbly jumped up the first branch and then disappeared behind some leaves. Kijani stood there amazed at how well she could climb but quickly shook it off knowing that he was needed up there and jumped to the nearest branch which of course took him some negotiating. For a moment he had a hard time getting his hold on the branch with his hind legs but once he finally found one he was able to pull himself up and then jump into the circle where everyone else was.

"Haven't you ever climbed a tree before?" asked Hawla in an annoyed voice.

"Yes of course I have, but not one like this," said Kijani hoping that the subject would change soon, luckily for him it did.

"I see you have found the graceful antelope and I am proud of you for that, welcome Hawla I am glad you agreed to join us," said Jabir as he nodded to Hawla, Hawla quietly nodded back.

"Now I want you all to look up to the sky, you notice how the stars are twinkling?" asked Jabir as he pointed with his stick.

"Yes but don't they always do that?" asked Conga.

"Of course but do you notice how they seem to be brighter than they should be?" asked Jabir.

Kijani squinted as he stared at one star in particular, it twinkled quietly in the night before it suddenly grew bigger before joining another star and then another, soon as many as twenty stars gathered together to form what looked like a tree. Kijani stared at it in surprise.

"How did that happen?" he asked but he was so quiet in saying it that no one heard him.

"Your journey will be short but it will also be filled with obstacles and your first will involve the jungle," said Jabir as more stars gathered to form many trees, some even gathered together to form birds, monkeys, and even a few insects.

The four watched as many monkeys swung through the trees, following a bird who seemed to look a lot like the white hornbill Conga had seen.

"Beware the nimble ones, for one mistake you may end up becoming their prisoner, their leader will help you if you reason with him but it also depends on his mood," said Jabir.

"Oh I know how those guys are," said Conga with a grumble. Last time she had encountered monkeys they would not let her talk and were more interested in throwing dung at her instead.

Jabir shushed her as the stars began to change again, this time one of the trees fell and landed between two cliffs.

"This will be your only way to cross, beware for your enemies may be behind you at any time, happy to make you fall to your doom," said Jabir as the stars showed the tree snapping and falling down the cliff and into some jagged rocks in a river.

Then the stars aligned to form a grassy plain and next to it an eroded cliff with a hole on the side. Like a projector, the stars moved closer toward it until it was right up to the cave. For a moment the stars stayed where they were before jumping into the dark hole and revealing an altar with light beaming down on it.

"Safiya will be there, find a way to save her and get her out before it is too late, perhaps the prophecy will be shattered as soon as you do so. But once you have her, you must run for a day and a half, do not stop until Hawla says so," said Jabir who stared at Hawla knowing how she would want to keep going after such a brave rescue.

All four were staring up at the sky amazed at the shaman's way of showing the journey for them. Jabir watched them though he knew that it had been all over yet they remained transfixed to the sky to see what was next. After a moment, the young baboon clapped his hands and everyone blinked and turned to the shaman with wonder in their eyes.

"Now do you understand how to get there?" asked Jabir.

Kijani nodded quietly and looked at the other three who also nodded without saying a word.

"Good you leave tomorrow as soon as the sun rises, get plenty of rest because you will need it, tonight is also the first night for the moon to be full for a fortnight, once it finally changes then that means the prophecy is over and there is a victor. The pride lands will be ruled by that victor forever more," said Jabir with calm in his voice.

"So that means I can spend one more night in pride rock before I go?" asked Kijani.

"Yes but you may not wake your parents, you may only say goodbye to them as they sleep, you will be gone by the time they are up as well," said Jabir.

"I understand," said Kijani who didn't really seem to mind, he definitely did not want to hear from his father again unless it was praise at the moment.

"Is my dad at pride rock?" asked Conga with worried eyes.

"Actually he is here in the tree resting on that pile of leaves over there," said Jabir as he pointed to the far end of his tree.

Conga walked over to where her father was sleeping. Zazu was lying on his side with many bandages wrapped around him. For a moment Conga wasn't sure if he was alive or not because his breathing was so shallow, but she gave a small smile when she saw his chest rise slowly up and down.

"I did everything I could but he is in a lot of pain so I don't expect him to live much longer," said Jabir quietly.

"Thank you for trying, do you mind if I stay with him tonight?" asked Conga.

Jabir nodded while Conga lay down close by Zazu but not too close, to make sure she would not wake him in his peaceful sleep. In her heart she knew that it would be her last night with him, slowly a small tear fell down her face as she realized she was loosing another parent. Conga was older now but she could not get the thought out of her mind of how both her parents were sharing the same fate. For the first time in many years, Conga cried herself to sleep.

* * *

Back in the savanna, Kijani was quietly walking with Hawla back to the den for a short rest when they both suddenly heard something in the bushes.

"What was that?" asked Hawla, her ears pricked as she listened intently.

Kijani only rolled his eyes; he knew perfectly well what that was. "Come out Hondo I know its you," he said.

Hondo poked his head out of a bush and looked up at Kijani with a smile on his face. "Hey I thought you ran away because your dad yelled at you and all that because you lost your sister," he said as he walked over to him.

"Because _we _lost them Hondo, not just me," said Kijani with a growl.

"Whatever, so what are you going to do now? Run away from home? Beg your dad to kill you? Punish yourself and not eat for weeks?" asked Hondo who was now acting very annoying by running around Kijani. Kijani quickly tripped Hondo and then growled.

"I will be leaving in the morning to rescue her, our lives depend on it that I get her back safely," said Kijani with a sneer.

Hondo jumped up started wagging his tail. "Then can I come too?" he asked.

"No, it's just me, Hawla, Conga, and Mahiri," said Kijani.

"Oh please, I'll be really good," said Hondo as he bowed down in front of Kijani, his rump high in the air while he tried to give Kijani the puppy dog look.

"I said no, now go back to your pack," said Kijani who walked past the young wild dog as if he was not there.

"Aww please?" cried Hondo as he jumped on top of Kijani knocking him over. Kijani lied on his back while Hondo stood above him continuing that annoyingly cute puppy dog stare. He really wanted to go, even if he wasn't part of the expedition. Kijani growled and pushed Hondo off while at the same time realizing that Hondo would be helpful.

"You know maybe it will be good to have another person help us get her back," said Kijani to Hawla.

"But it sounds like he will be in the way and ruin our element of surprise," said Hawla with a sneer while Hondo looked at her with hopeful eyes.

"I promise I'll be good and follow orders," said Hondo as he sat there wagging his tail.

Kijani looked at Hawla who then gave a sigh and walked off. "Well it won't be my fault then if we fail," she said.

Hondo smirked at Kijani who just rolled his eyes.

"If you are going to come, then meet us at the waterhole before the sun rises got that?" asked Kijani.

Hondo gave a quick salute with his paw before running off in the opposite direction. Kijani sighed and shook his head, hopefully Hondo would be good and that they would be able to get to Safiya without any delays.

* * *

Many miles to the south, Kairu was flying through the jungle. He had been given orders by Hatari that he should stay behind and leave traps for any one who dared try to get Safiya back, Hatari knew that it would happen eventually. Even though it was late at night, the jungle still felt hot and steamy and it made him feel uncomfortable. For a moment he perched himself on a branch, searching for any sign of a good trap to set and to cool down from the humidity.

He did not know it but five pairs of eyes stood behind a bush watching him with great curiosity. They were Vervet monkeys a small monkey that were found throughout Africa and very dexterous especially with their long tails. This clan in particular was different though, they liked to capture things and keep them in special nets where they would often tease the creature for as long as they wanted and sometimes they even slaughtered the creature they caught and have them for dinner.

Kairu had not heard them at all but he sensed their presence and slowly he searched the branches with his red eyes for the creatures.

"Look Look! White Bird White Bird!" said one quietly to the other

"Ghost Ghost! Scary Scary! Haunt Haunt!" said another.

"You just chicken chicken! Stories fake fake!" said another.

"Capture capture?" asked the first monkey.

"Yeah yeah, sure sure, make good pet pet," said one.

There was no arguing, they all liked capturing things and they weren't going to stop now. For a few tense seconds all five stood behind some leaves while Kairu stood still, he knew something was near but he had no idea where it was coming from until he saw two paws grasp his legs causing him to let out a squawk.

"What is the meaning of this?" he said with his eyes burning red.

Two of the monkeys stepped back after seeing the red eyes, frightened by his appearance, while the other three held onto him tightly. "Get back here whimp whimps, won't hurt with more more," said one that had grabbed his wings.

The two monkeys hesitated for a minute before joining their comrades to help bring Kairu with them back to the clan.

"You come with us to meat leader big big, he decide what to do to ghost bird bird," said one of the monkeys.

Kairu growled. "Let go of me you hooligans I must get back to help the pack fulfill a destiny," he said as he kicked at the monkeys while the swung through the trees but they were very strong and Kairu could not get out of their grasp.

He relaxed finally when he got an idea, perhaps he could persuade their leader to get rid of whoever would be following them to get Safiya back and then they would take care of the group for him, it was the perfect plan.

Kairu was not carried too far before being thrown heavily onto a rock, two monkeys pinned him to the ground and began to chuckle.

"Leader Big Big has plan for white bird bird," said one monkey.

Kairu lifted his head and found at least five dozen monkeys staring down at him grinning and anticipating some fun activities with him. He was in an old temple that had worn away so that the only structures that still stood was the floor, some beams and a few small rooms. In front of Kairu stood a giant leopard head with broken fangs, even though it was old it still looked dangerous to be near and Kairu wondered if "Leader Big Big" was inside the hole in the mouth.

"What have you found this time?" asked the giant head, its voice echoing loudly through the jungle. He did not sound at all like the monkeys, perhaps he was a real leopard who ruled over all the monkeys and then would eat them if they got out of line.

"Found white bird bird, perfect pet pet," said the monkey who had the idea in the first place.

There was a long pause before Leader Big Big spoke up again. "You may keep him, but he is not to be eaten, is that understood?" he asked.

"We understand stand," said the monkey. As soon as the leading monkey said this, the whole clan hooted and shouted in unison over their new prize. Kairu knew he needed to act fast so he screeched as loudly as he could; it was so loud in fact that the entire forest became silent.

"Wait spare my life I have a lion, you know big teeth, long shiny mane," said Kairu.

"Yes we know what a lion is, get on with it!" said Leader Big Big.

"He is heading this way and if you can capture him it would mean a lot to me, maybe trade his capture for my freedom," said Kairu, it sounded like a dumb idea but perhaps it would work.

Leader Big Big was silent again. "I like that idea, but I don't think one lion would be worth a white bird especially one as rare as you," he said.

"Oh but what about a bird and a lion, I can bet that those two will come," said Kairu.

"Is the bird white like you?" asked Leader Big Big.

"No but she is very spunky, she would probably make a good fighter, against the lion, and probably defeat him too, she did it to a hawk once and it was ten times bigger than her," said Kairu with a sly look on his face.

"Big fight fight!" said most of the monkey's in unison.

"Hmmmm this idea is most intriguing to me………. We will do it," said Leader Big Big.

Kairu gave out a long sigh; he would not have to live the rest of his life with these hooligans. He was hoping that the monkeys would let him go so he could fly away when Leader Big Big spoke again.

"However you must stay in our possession until we find this lion and bird you are talking about, and once we find them, you can go home," said Leader Big Big.

Kairu gave a loud moan as the entire clan descended upon him, poking him with sticks and throwing various things at him while some of the clan carried him off into the cages. Kairu knew that it was going to be a long night dealing with these annoying pests.

* * *

A/N: Well sorry this chapter took forever, even though I have only been back to school for a week, I already had a lot to do mainly in my creative writing class where I had to make up a human character, and making up a human character is hard for me since I like animals better. Still it was interesting. Now I don't know how often I will be updating because this Creative Writing class makes me do a lot of stuff even if it is one day a week and by the end of the semester I have to write a _stunning_ fifteen page story, oh boy. Plus I have three other classes and two of them require a lot of writing too, yucky.

Sorry if this chapter sucked too, I know its going really slow right now and hopefully something will happen sooner or later, if not I will just throw this story in the trash, blah. Remember to review too, I like them especially the ones by Ochi, he gives pointers on how to do better without saying you suck and telling you to keep going. Those kinds of people rock.

Any way you guys probably don't want to hear me rant any more so I will give you all a cool writer to check out. Her name is Demo the Bounding Jackalope, she has done only one story for the lion king and hasn't updated in a while but it's still a good story to check out and beg for more. So say hello to her and I will see you all hopefully in a month, if I don't go crazy first.


	8. More Crazy Monkeys

Hondo was the first to poke his head into the dark and dangerous jungle. The young wild dog looked around at the luscious scenery and was amazed by all the plant life and colors that made the jungle unique. He sniffed a strange flower that he had never seen before and instantly sneezed.

"What are you allergic to the place?" asked Kijani as he poked his head in to see what it was like.

"No I just sniffed this flower too hard I guess," said Hondo as he tried to hold his sneeze in and failed miserably. Hawla walked by at that moment.

"Urg, cover your muzzle," she said with a growl.

Conga was still a little nervous about entering the jungle and stood at the edge staring into it and wondering if she would come out of it alive. Mahiri was standing next to her noticing the worried look on her face and how she would take a step before backing up once again.

"Whatever happened to that one spunky kid I once knew?" asked Mahiri.

"She grew up and she not hooked on vengeance at the moment," said Conga as she continued to stare straight ahead.

"How about this, pretend that you are after Kapeni after all those years, Baakir lied to you and he really wasn't dead and now you want to settle it once and for all," said Mahiri.

"What you mean Baakir or Kapeni?" asked Conga a little confused, her mind was wandering at the moment so she was not sure what to think.

"Kapeni, he was just stunned or something," said Mahiri.

Conga squinted as she began to think but for some reason the only memory that came back to her was her father lying in the tree of life in pain and death at his doorstep. She didn't want to go on this journey; she wanted to be with her father.

"It's not working," she said with a sigh.

Mahiri paced back and forth in front of her for a moment until he had an idea. "So you are going to let that hawk run away with it after what he said about your mother, those evil things that make you thirst for vengeance even more. And what about this, you are going after your father's bully too," he said shifting his eyebrows with a sly look on his face.

As soon as those words came to her, Conga felt herself again and puffed up her chest. "You're right, I wasn't thinking about that, let's go," she said as she hopped into the jungle where the three carnivores were waiting for them.

"Finally!" growled Hawla.

Conga ignored her and jumped on Kijani's back staring at the sights around her. She could hear a few birds singing, some water trickling and even some frogs croaking for a mate. They were all different sounds compared to home and all were very cautious.

"Now remember, we need to watch out for the hornbill and the monkeys, no telling where they might be and where they can ambush us," said Hawla.

"Yeah they are probably not at all like Jabir," said Kijani.

"Oh definitely not, I remember these guys on my journey, they like to fling poo and argue over the littlest things," said Conga who continued to look up at the canopy.

"Well perhaps this time since there are claws in the group they can get scared easily, I guess we will have to find out," said Hawla.

High above the canopy, ten of the monkeys were hiding behind some vines and watched the five travelers with curiosity. They saw Conga and wondered if that was the one the white hornbill told them about. They wanted to go down and do some teasing but knew that it would not be a good idea without a larger group present.

"Get others?" asked one.

"Yes yes, make pet pet," said another.

And without another word, they swung back to the group in hopes of catching what they had found.

The five travelers quietly made their way through the jungle; the three carnivores had never seen so much plant life and were amazed by all the creatures that lived there.

"Wow so Grandpa really did have an interesting time living here when he was a cub," said Kijani as he carefully touched a flower, it instantly closed up leaving him and Hondo amazed.

"Can you guys look and don't touch, its bad enough we have to be on the lookout for monkeys," said Hawla with a growl.

Kijani did a mock imitation of her to Hondo, complete with scowl and to add extra laughs a tongue sticking out. Hondo chuckled quietly before Conga bonked him on the head.

"You two are so immature," she said as she flew ahead to help Hawla look around.

Hondo then tried to do a mock imitation of Conga with some bark to put over his muzzle as a beak and then make a yak yak yakking sound. Of course Mahiri could not help but laugh at this and neither could Kijani.

Suddenly something rustled in the bushes in front of them and they all stopped in fright.

"What was that?" asked Hondo.

"Hopefully it was just a bug," said Kijani.

They looked over at Hawla and Conga who were both standing there listening for any more sounds. Then Hondo saw the grass move toward him, he tried to back away but instead it slithered underneath him, causing Hondo to jump on Kijani's back.

"If that was a snake then I am out of here," he said as he shivered with fright and his tail between his legs.

Kijani said nothing and right when he looked over at Conga he saw two hairy paws reach out and grab her. Conga had no time to even scream as the monkeys carried them off.

"Aww great, those little sneaks," said Kijani as he started to run in the direction of where the monkeys ran off to. Mahiri, Hawla, and Hondo close behind.

Kijani ran as fast as he could trying to keep up with the monkeys but he didn't have to go far when he ran straight into a ravine, he closed his eyes as he felt himself fall but when he opened them he found himself flying through the air, had he just died? But when he looked up he saw at least thirty monkeys hanging onto him as they swung through the trees taking him to their temple.

"Hey let go of me!" he yelled as he swiped at the monkeys with his claws but they were just a little out of reach for him.

Far below, the other three were racing after the group but of course they weren't fast enough, even Hawla. Finally Mahiri flew up to maybe distract the monkeys and get them to let Kijani go but the instant he made contact with one, the monkey slapped him hard in the face leaving the little bee eater stunned.

Down he fell through the canopy, hitting branches and leaves on the way down. Luckily for Mahiri, Hondo saw this and leaped in the air to grab him. Hondo caught him by the wing while he fell hard on his back.

"And the crowd goes wild!" he said a second later.

"Ow that hurt, thanks though," said Mahiri in a daze.

"Looks like we're going to have to track them down now," said Hawla.

"Yeah but its going to be tough finding them since they live in the trees," said Hondo.

"I can scout at the top," said Mahiri.

"Good thinking, Mahiri you fly above, if you see anything let us know, now lets move," said Hawla.

Without another word, all three raced through the jungle searching for the monkeys and their friends.

* * *

Conga was the first to arrive at the temple where she was pinned down hard on the concrete as some of the monkeys called for their leader. Kijani was next to arrive, still trying to fight his way out of the mess.

Kijani was then hit on the head very hard by one monkey and he gave him an angry growl showing his pearly whites.

"Oh big teeth teeth, make necklace shiny shiny," the monkey said as he showed off his necklace made of nuts.

Kijani growled again but was instantly interrupted by a loud voice coming from inside a jaguar head. Conga and Kijani looked up and saw a figure walk out of the mouth of the leopard head, both squinted to see what the creature was but it was hard to tell from so far away.

"Oh Leader Big Big come," said one monkey.

Leader Big Big slowly made his way to the two prisoners and stopped about five feet away from them. Conga and Kijani now had a better look and noticed that Leader Big Big had covered his head with a leopard skull that was painted in all sorts of weird designs. His body was painted all over and behind the skull was lots of different bird feathers; it was truly a strange sight indeed.

Leader Big Big stared at the two prisoners for a long moment, mainly at Conga before finally speaking.

"So these are the creatures the white one told you about?" he asked.

"Yes yes, bird and big lion," said one monkey.

"Ah but the lion is only an adolescent, look at his mane, he can't fight a bird without a fine mane," said Leader Big Big.

"Can we eat eat?" asked another monkey.

Leader Big Big stared at the monkey and then at Conga and Kijani before speaking. "No I will throw them in my prison where they will stay until I figure out what to do with them," he said

The monkeys began to hoot and holler at Leader Big Big's offer, some were not happy with the idea; they wanted to have some fun. But as soon as Leader Big Big motioned for Conga and Kijani to be taken to the cages, they instantly obeyed.

Roughly Conga and Kijani were lead to the cages that were made of hard bamboo and tied together by a special vine; it had a very strong hold and would not be easy to get out of. They were then thrown into one so hard that Conga ran into the back wall and lay upside down against it as she watched the monkeys close and lock it up. Kijani growled.

"Well that's just great, thrown in without being asked if I'm on an important mission or not, if I ever get my claws on that white hornbill I will kill him," said Kijani.

"And it looks like we can have our chance right now," said Conga as she pointed to Kairu sitting in a nearby corner looking a little nervous and keeping his distance.

Kijani gave a roar and ran over grabbing him roughly by the throat. "So you told them we were coming, you horrible creature, I hope you rot in the underworld for this," he growled lifting his paw up to strike him.

Kairu barely showed any fear as he tried to pry Kijani away from him. "Go ahead and kill me if you want, then you won't find an easy way to get to your sister," he said.

Kijani loosened his grip and lowered his paw; he stared at the white bird suspiciously. "You would actually help us find her?" he asked.

"Oh yes especially after those hyenas told me I was no longer any use to them," Kairu lied but had a very honest look on his face.

"So you seriously want to help us?" asked Conga.

Kairu only nodded while Conga and Kijani both looked at each other a little unsure. Conga was about to give her opinion when Leader Big Big made his announcement in the room.

"So if it isn't Conga," said Leader Big Big.

Conga stared at the strange creature in shock, she could not remember any one even mention her name, was this creature also a magician?

"H-how did you know my name?" asked Conga.

Leader Big Big took a step closer toward the young hornbill and slowly began to pry the skull off his face. Once it was off, Conga gave him the look of shock. For a moment she could not believe her eyes as she looked into the face of another hornbill, but not just any hornbill this hornbill was her brother.

"Dinari?" she asked.

"The one and only," he said with a sly smile.

"Oh my goodness I thought I would never see you again," said Conga as her brother opened the cage so they could both embrace each other.

"What are you doing out here any way?" asked Dinari.

"The same question I want to ask you except more along the lines of why are you a leader of monkeys?" asked Conga.

"Oh that's a long story that I will tell once I get us all out of here," said Dinari who was looking up at Kijani with curiosity.

"Well first off this is Kijani, his sister was kidnapped by hyenas and we have to get her back before it changes the whole world," said Conga with a worried face.

"Oh my I haven't heard anything about this that's probably why Whitey here said you were passing by this way," said Dinari.

Conga turned and looked at Kairu who still showed the same blank stare he always did, he was of course lying about the hyenas not wanting him any more but he new he could try and talk his way out of another problem.

"I can still help you find them, I lived in their land for four years," he said.

"But I bet we can find our own way thank you very much, we should just use you as bait, maybe clip your wings so you won't fly away," said Kijani.

"Or we could just tie him up and drag him the whole way," said Conga.

"Sounds like a plan," said Kijani with a sneaky smile.

"Well let me go get some vines and Demo," said Dinari as he put the skull back on his head.

"Demo?" Kijani and Conga said in unison.

"Yeah Demo, he's my friend an okapi," said Dinari as he disappeared behind a corner.

Kijani and Conga stared at each other surprised by how Dinari had acquired an okapi somehow but Conga knew that her brother was always a smart one who made friends easily.

It did not take him long to return either, Dinari had the vine in his wings while another creature followed right behind him, slowly but still able to catch up. The okapi was mainly a dark brown but what made him even more interesting was how his hind legs had white stripes on him, and he had two tiny horns on his head.

"Okay Whitey, put your wings out so I can tie them" said Dinari.

"The names Kairu," said Kairu with a glare and reluctantly gave Dinari his wings.

"Well excuse me," said Dinari while rolling his eyes.

"Did that white mouse just said his name was Dai woo?" asked Demo as he bent down to look at Kairu closely.

"No Demo, he's a white hornbill and he said his name is Kairu," said Dinari loudly into the okapi's ear.

Demo gave a surprised look while looking down at the angry hornbill; Kairu stuck his tongue out at him causing Demo to look over at Conga and Kairu who both smiled at him, glad to see another ally even though he was a herbivore.

"Oh dear, Dinari did you know that there is a lion in here?" he asked.

"I see Demo is a little light headed," said Kijani.

"Not really, it's only because his hearing is not that great and his eyesight is poor, and he still is quite young too. I think it's just a defect from birth, but it's not that bad he's still a great friend," said Dinari as he patted his friend's nose.

Suddenly hoots and hollers came from outside causing Kijani to jump out of the cage to investigate, it did not take him long to figure out what was going on. Hawla, Hondo, and Mahiri had finally arrived.

"Well it looks like help is finally here," said Kijani happily as he raced out the door to help the three fight.

"Oh dear only three of them though, they could get ripped to shreds by those monkeys," said Dinari.

Conga gasped as she flew out to help Kijani. Dinari nonchalantly put the skull back on his head and walked out the door.

Outside Hondo was being bombarded by five monkeys, four were beating him with sticks while another bit him hard in the shoulder. Hondo howled and tried to swipe at them but missed as the monkey only laughed and bit down harder. He didn't last long though when Kijani came racing in, swiping all five monkeys with one huge paw. Of course several monkeys saw this happen and pounced on top of him. Kijani roared in anger and pain as they bit down on him left and right.

"ENOUGH!!!!!" cried Dinari from the temple.

Every monkey stopped what they were doing and looked up at their leader who looked very angry from where he was standing.

"Leader Big Big, they come and fight fight, want our pet pets," said one monkey panting heavily.

"Yes and they have good reason to for if we don't let them go, terrible things will happen," said Dinari.

All the monkeys looked at each other worriedly before Dinari continued. "Oh yes terrible things, if you kill the puppy dog, then it will stop raining and you will never see water again for fifty years," said Dinari.

The monkeys gasped as they moved away from Hondo who all gave them an evil smirk before limping over to Kijani to see if he was okay.

"And the green bird, well lets just say you can never have any kids if you kill her," said Dinari.

The male monkeys all covered their crotches, fearing what might happen to them if they did hurt Conga. Conga had to hide a chuckle as she pretended to sneeze.

"And because of this, they have told me I need to go on a journey with them, I don't know if I will ever come back, but while I am gone, please do not try to kill or maim anything or it could turn to serious consequences, like that monkey over there turning into the most horrible thing of all, Michael Moore," said Dinari as he pointed to a random monkey in the crowd.

All the monkeys stared at their companion in fear knowing what it would be like if he was Michael Moore. Finally they all backed away, some ran away into the trees while a few others began to argue over who would be the leader. Finally the temple was disserted and only Hawla, Hondo, Kijani, Conga, Mahiri, Dinari, Kairu and Demo were left standing there.

Hawla limped over to Dinari as he took off the skull and gave him a quick hug. "Thanks, I'm glad we had someone on our side, we would have probably never gotten out of that thing alive," she said.

"You are welcome, now lets go some where else to rest for the night, I want to hear what is going on in the Pride Lands and tell you how I became a monkey king," said Dinari.

"Oh boy story time!" said Mahiri excitedly.

Together they all vanished into the foliage in search of a good place to rest and to hopefully talk some sense into Kairu about what was going on.

* * *

A/N: Okay that's the end of that chapter, nice and long for you and all that, hope you all enjoyed it, sorry if the ending was lame though. Demo is named after Demo the Bounding Jackalope of course though he's not a Jackalope but an even cooler animal, an okapi. Related to the giraffe only with a shorter neck and a butt like a zebra, they are so cool. And I also apologize to any Michael Moore fans, I could not think of any better ideas.

Well now its time to suggest an author and man I have so many to choose but finally I thought of a good one, her name is Kahllynn and she has a lovely story about a white lion and a blue lion and a black lion with a white paw, and other random colored characters that are just too cool. It's so well written you have to read it. She also has a sequel to it that she hasn't updated in ages so maybe you can beg her in a review to update. If you don't want to review then give her a hug, she definitely deserves one of those. And of course if she reads this she will poke me a thousand times before I bruise to death.

Any way I hope to update again soon, not sure when though like I always say since school is getting in the way and I like to procrastinate. Well please review and have a nice Valentines Day.


	9. Dinari

A/N: Okay just to warn some of you guys if you haven't read Conga's Journey, there are some spoilers in here for that story. So if you're still reading Conga's Journey I suggest you stay away from this chapter. That is all.

* * *

The sun was setting now by the time the little group found a place to rest for the night. Everyone was exhausted especially after having to fight some very rough monkeys. Along the way Dinari recounted how he became a leader of a huge tribe of monkeys. It had been purely by accident, he and Demo had been traveling through the jungle one day when they were captured and thrown into the little prison. Because the monkeys never really cared for anything they captured, the cage had been littered with bones. Dinari just happened to put on a leopard skull when one monkey entered the room. The monkey became so startled by this thinking it was an evil omen that he let Dinari do what he wanted. Dinari decided to have a little fun and told him that he was once a great leader who had ruled this jungle with an iron paw.

Dinari had hoped that it would set him free but the monkeys decided to make him their leader instead. He had tried to talk them into letting him go on a journey but one monkey would always insist on going with him. He had finally given up and played along until Conga showed up.

"And I am glad Kairu told us to capture you, otherwise I would still be there tonight having dinner with a few monkeys who like having food fights," said Dinari.

Conga looked over at Kairu who had ridden on Demo's back the whole way; he was nodding off and really not listening to anything around him. He did wake up though when Demo laid down causing him to fall over.

Kairu lay on the ground, growling under his breath since he couldn't really move from the vines wrapped around his wings. Kijani walked over to him and nudged him close to Demo so he could sleep in a warm spot.

"I'd rather die of cold than sleep next to any of you," he growled.

"Oh it looks like we have a grumpy person in our group, would you like some sleep mister grumpy?" asked Kijani in a mocking tone.

Kairu growled at him before turning over facing Demo's back. Kijani knew they were not going to get anything out of him tonight and he knew it was best to leave the white bird alone.

"So Kijani, are you Kiara's son?" asked Dinari as he found a comfortable spot against Demo. Conga and Mahiri joining him.

"Yup, she's queen now," said Kijani who had found a nice relaxing spot in front of a rock with Hondo. Hawla found a separate spot near a log to sleep alone.

"Oh how wonderful, and who's the lucky King?" asked Dinari.

"Kovu," said Kijani while licking his injured shoulder where a monkey had bit him.

Dinari gasped "You mean that murderer, how did Simba even accept that?"

Kijani looked at Dinari startled; he had never known his father to be a murderer, more of a stern lecturer than anything else.

"Oh dear that's right, you've been gone a while, Dad forgave Kovu for killing Bahati and Kovu helped save the pride lands from Zira," said Conga.

"Oh I see, how is Dad any way?" asked Dinari.

Conga looked down at the floor, afraid to tell him of their father's condition. Dinari looked back at her knowing that something was wrong.

"One of the hyenas attacked him when Safiya was captured, he's still alive but not doing that great," said Mahiri who knew it was hard for Conga to say anything.

Dinari sighed, another parent lost to a carnivore. Slowly he inched closer to Conga and gave her a big hug. He was not the best at consoling but he was good at being there for someone.

"I've missed you a lot Dinari," said Conga as she hugged him back.

Dinari only smiled as he began to go back more than five years ago, a week after Binti their mother, had died.

* * *

_Dinari stood alone on a branch watching the pride lands, the lionesses were going about their daily business. Most had never even met him or his mother for that matter so he knew that they all were not concerned about the majordomo's wife's passing. They were more concerned about getting food for the pride or sleeping under the shade._

_Dinari wiped a tear from his eye and stared out at the outlands, Kovu was out there somewhere and so was Nuka, the two murderers who killed one of his sisters. He wanted to give him a piece of his mind, but knew he was overreacting and that it was better to keep the peace without his father having to worry about it._

_For some reason though Dinari did not feel complete, he wanted to be far away from his birth place, everywhere he looked there seemed to be a bad memory and he just didn't want to spend his whole life remembering those terrible times._

_He knew it was best to find life somewhere else, his father Zazu would be disappointed by this but at least he would have a better life and not worry about getting killed. Quietly he flew off the branch and went to find his father._

_I didn't take him long to find Zazu. Zazu was over by the waterhole watching the other animals as he flew in beside him._

"_Hi Dad," he said quietly._

"_Hey Dinari, how are you?" Zazu asked._

"_I'm okay, I came to ask you something," said Dinari a little nervous about saying something._

"_And what is that?" asked Zazu not even looking over at his son._

"_I feel that this place has too many bad memories, I feel that I won't take it any more if I live here much longer and I feel that there is a much better life out there for me to spend. I hope you don't mind, I promise I will keep in touch," said Dinari._

_Zazu let out a deep sigh and looked sadly at Dinari, his face was so deeply set that he looked older than he ever had been. "You know how badly this will break my heart but its better than watching you suffer with thoughts full of sadness and I still have Conga," he said._

"_So you don't mind?" asked Dinari._

"_As long as you let me know how you are when you get there, go right ahead," said Zazu._

_Dinari gave Zazu a weak smile and hugged him tightly. "Thanks Dad, I promise to let you know where I go, maybe I will see you again someday," he said._

_Zazu said nothing but continued to stare at the waterhole, Dinari stayed with him for a few hours before finally giving him one final hug and flying off but he also knew he had to say goodbye to Conga who he knew would probably take it hard._

_Dinari found his sister taking a nap in a acacia tree nearby, he wasn't sure if he should wake her but changed his mind a few seconds later. He tapped her lightly on the shoulder and it took her a moment to get her bearings straight before looking at Dinari with startled eyes._

"_What's wrong Dinari?" asked Conga as she rubbed her eyes._

"_I just wanted to say goodbye, I'm going to find a new home, there's too many bad memories here," said Dinari sadly._

_Conga stared at her little brother with sad eyes, she really did not want to see him go, they were the closest out of the nestlings and both had shared each others tears when their mother died._

"_Well I really wish you wouldn't, it's going to feel so lonely out here, and plus I was hoping you would come with me one day to find that hawk and kill it for what it did to mom," said Conga._

"_You actually want to kill him? But I don't even think we could stand a chance against him, he was so big and ruthless," said Dinari._

"_I know but I feel it would be better if he were dead, then others wouldn't die from his horrible cruelty," said Conga._

_Dinari shook his head, he was definitely not a fighter, Conga was tougher and did a lot of things without thinking._

"_He'll probably come back this way too, maybe you can ask Simba to help you," said Dinari._

"_Yeah maybe, but do you really have to leave, it would just feel so lonely out here without you," said Conga._

"_It would, but you would get used to it, besides I'll probably come back one day and say hello," Dinari said._

_Conga nodded before giving her little brother a big hug. For a few minutes both stood there together, Dinari shedding a few tears on Conga's shoulder. Conga couldn't, she was more interested in destroying the hawk and no tears were shed._

_Dinari wanted to tell her how stupid it was to think such angry thoughts, he knew that anger turned to hate and hate could lead to the destruction of one's self. But remembering the last time he argued with Conga over a smaller matter, he knew he would not win. But he wished she would forgive, wish that she would realize that the circle of life was cruel and things happened for a reason. _

_After a long embrace, Dinari said a quick goodbye and began his flight away from the pride lands, he wanted to be as far as possible and he hoped that his new home would be perfect._

_For a week he traveled alone until he finally arrived in a lonely jungle. It seemed peaceful and quiet and perhaps he could raise a family. He spent a few days surveying his new domain, there were a lot of interesting things to see and watch. Once he saw a family of chimpanzees enjoying an afternoon swim in a pool, and a chameleon catch its prey._

_He found a nice little home in a small knothole; it was big enough for him and had a nice play to store stuff if he had trouble finding food one day. It was a quiet place and the only neighbors he really had was a family of bush babies living in the next tree over. They were quiet even when they only came out at night._

_For a month he lived alone, no one talked to him and he was often found talking to himself over the days gone by. Wondering how his sister was doing, and if anything was going on in the pride lands. He did ask some finches to carry out the message to Zazu that he was safe, even if it was for a fee of a days food supply. _

_But Dinari felt that he needed someone to talk to, he wanted a friend who he could share the long nights with and enjoy a good laugh now and again. He didn't care what species just as long as they were kind and shared the same hopes and dreams he did._

_One morning, Dinari was awakened by a cry for help from down below. Dinari slowly flew down to investigate and saw an okapi thrashing about in the undergrowth with a trap on his hind leg. Dinari rushed over to help._

"_Don't worry everything is going to be alright," he said when he reached the okapi._

_The okapi stared at the bird in front of him for a moment, a little confused by what he said. "I'm sorry but my hearing is not that great but did you say 'don't hurry everything is alight?" he asked._

_Dinari was surprised by this, the okapi did not look old at all, but young maybe a few years old. Dinari inched closer to his ear. "I said everything will be alright, I will try and help you out," he said._

"_Oh that would be wonderful thank you," said the okapi now that he understood what the young bird had said._

_Dinari flew down and inspected the trap, the okapi must have been there for a while because the rope was already cutting into his flesh making it bleed._

"_How long have you been down here?" asked Dinari as loudly as he could._

"_I don't know, it was late last night I know that, I was just wandering around and suddenly I couldn't go any more, I tried but this rope held me back. I bet I could have seen it if I had better eyesight," said the okapi a little ashamed._

_Dinari looked up at the okapi sadly, he could tell that his life had been hard trying to find his way without tripping over something or not being able to hear danger approach. Perhaps he could become friends with him, but he would have to decide that later. The okapi needed to get loose._

"_Okay this might sting a little, but I will try to be gentle," said Dinari as he began to figure out how to undo the rope._

_The okapi nodded worriedly as he braced himself for some pain. Slowly Dinari peeled the rope away from the skin, it was tedious but he was able to get the job done even if it was quite messy from all the blood. Finally once the rope was removed from the skin, Dinari carefully cut it with his beak. The okapi was now free._

"_There you go, you are free now, your leg will probably have a scar from that but it probably won't be too noticeable," said Dinari as he pressed the wound with a leaf. The okapi flinched but held still to let Dinari compress it._

"_Thank you so much, I thought I would never get out of there," said the Okapi._

"_You're very welcome, and I hope you don't mind asking that since you are alone with such bad sight and poor hearing, I was wondering if you wanted a Seeing Eye bird? Asked Dinari a little sheepishly._

_The okapi gave a wide smile. "I would love that very much, we okapi's are loners but lately I have been feeling that I needed a friend, my name is Demo by the way," he said._

"_And I'm Dinari, I guess fate has brought us together because I have been needing a friend too," said Dinari._

_Demo smiled as he let Dinari jump on his back before leading him through the forest. From that moment on, both were inseparable. They slept together, they shared their meals together and they shared their hopes and dreams. Just what Dinari had wanted. He didn't care if he never had a mate; he just needed a friend, a friend to be by his side until the end of time. Life to him was now complete._

* * *

Dinari came back to the present and looked over at Conga who was watching Kairu as he slept nearby; the white hornbill was snoring loudly and looked as if he was having a hard dream by how his claws were jerking back and forth.

"I don't think you need to worry about him, he's tied up pretty tightly" said Dinari.

"Yeah, I just hope we can talk some sense into him," said Conga.

Dinari only nodded and looked back down at Conga, for the first time he saw the scar on her shoulder.

"How did that happen?" he asked.

"From being stubborn and following my heart when I shouldn't had," said Conga with a sigh.

"You went after the hawk didn't you?" asked Dinari.

Conga nodded and looked at Mahiri who was now sound asleep. "But I made a friend and I saved his life like you did with Demo," said Conga.

"But were you successful?" asked Dinari.

"Well yes and no, I did find him, but I wasn't able to kill him," said Conga.

"Change of heart huh?" asked Dinari.

"No, he was stronger than I was, I was so filled up in anger that I didn't really know what I was doing," said Conga.

"Did Mahiri save you?" asked Dinari.

"No someone else did, someone who was probably redeemed for all the wrongs he had ever done. Our Grandfather," said Conga.

"You mean…?" asked Dinari a little startled remembering the day when Binti had told them the story of her childhood.

Conga nodded. "But he changed, he was grumpy but he had the spirit of someone who wanted to redeem himself for all his wrongs he did. The hardest thing was saying goodbye to him. He lived after killing the hawk for me but he wanted to die of old age alone, he felt he deserved it," said Conga a tear running down her cheek as she remembered the old grump Baakir.

"And I bet he was redeemed for saving you, how did you find out he was related?" asked Dinari.

"He did, after I mentioned my mothers past and what happened to her while spending a few days with some Addax in the desert. He felt so terrible and was even afraid to tell me, namely because I was so ruthless in going after that hawk, I guess he thought I would kill him too," said Conga.

"Heh heh, I wouldn't blame him. Before I left I wanted to tell you to destroy that anger but I couldn't because I knew I couldn't win, you were always so stubborn," said Dinari.

"Well it does run in the family," said Conga.

Dinari only nodded as he looked up at the stars. They shone brightly up there and he wondered if the great kings or his mother was up there watching. Conga gave a big yawn and shut her eyes. There was no need for any more conversation, Dinari had asked most of the questions he wanted to know, there would probably be more lately but not now.

Dinari yawned and turned over resting his head on Demo's thick neck, in no time at all; he was sleeping and dreaming of home back in the pride lands.

The small group slept on that night, but the jungle never rests especially when you are a hyena wanting to make up more plans with the captured spy. Mooza and Rugar were the only two who had not reached their home, Hatari had order them to stay behind and spy on Kairu. They had been doing so since they had all escaped from the monkeys and both wanted to talk to the white hornbill for they had a plan that they hoped would work.

Quietly Mooza snuck into camp; carefully she grabbed Kairu by the feathers and took him a few ways away from the group so they could talk. Of course Kairu was a sound sleeper so getting him to wake up was quite a chore. Rugar solved that problem by slamming him into a rock.

"Cripes, can't a guy get some sleep at all? This is the second time my sleep has been disturbed," he growled as he tried to loosen the rope around his wings.

Rugar stood in front of him, growling. "We leave you alone and you get caught, some savior you are," he said.

Kairu looked up at Rugar and Mooza with his burning red eyes. "Shouldn't you two be back with the pack by now?" he asked.

"Hatari wants to make sure you don't slip up and we also wanted to help you destroy this group," said Mooza with an evil snicker.

"Oh do you both have a plan? Is Migwi here to kill them in their sleep?" asked Kairu while he lifted his wings up as a hint to show he wanted the vines off him.

Rugar was about to say something about that when he realized how stupid he was for not thinking it. "Damn, that would have worked out perfectly, why did we not think of that?" he asked staring at Mooza.

"Because you are hyena's, hyena's don't think," said Kairu still trying to hint at the vine around his wings.

Rugar growled and hit Kairu against the head. "Don't ever call us stupid, we are a superior race who have been mistreated and never given a chance, we will show all the lands how great we will become and how the lands can still be perfect under our rule," he said.

"Okay fine, sorry I even said anything, now tell me do you have a plan then? And will you get this vine off my wings?" asked Kairu.

"We do have a plan, you remember that log bridge?" asked Rugar.

Kairu nodded, it was a nice place to cross if you couldn't fly, but the ravine was very high up, a river flowed underneath it with heavy rapids that could bash anyone to bits against the rocks.

"We found a weak spot in that log bridge and one little shove can send them all tumbling down," said Mooza with an evil chuckle.

"What about the birds, they can fly to save themselves," said Kairu.

"They'll probably give up, three small birds can't really defeat a huge hyena clan," said Rugar.

Kairu thought about this for a moment and then nodded. "I like this plan but how do I get them that way?" he asked.

"They said they wanted to talk sense into you, so you better do it, say we use it all the time for traveling," said Rugar.

Kairu growled, he hated giving ideas to his enemies but what the hyena's wanted the hyenas got. He would be silent for a few hours and wait for a good moment to talk to them; he would not give in too quickly.

"And we will not loosen your bonds, you are their prisoner until we decide to help you," said Mooza.

"But you will rescue me before the log bridge right?" asked Kairu.

Rugar and Mooza stared at each other for a moment. Both had discussed this earlier and both were willing to sacrifice the white bird just to get the group destroyed. Both only smiled at him.

"See you in two days Kairu, don't mess up," said Mooza who then batted Kairu hard against the rock and carried him a little ways back to the camp. Once they were at the edge, Mooza flung him back to the center. Kairu landed in a heap knocking the wind right out of him. For a moment Kairu laid there thinking about how the hyenas were now willing to sacrifice him and how stupid he suddenly felt. But anger was soon overcome by exhaustion and before he knew it, he was sound asleep, the camp was quiet once again.

* * *

A/N: Well there's chapter 9. Hope you all enjoyed that, I thought it was a better chapter. Not the best but still better. Any way not much going on, the gorilla at the zoo gave birth and we've had more snow than usual but that's about it.

Well I guess its time to introduce a new author for you to read. Her name is Pichooi, she hasn't done anything in a while but she has a very cute story that involves Zazu and Timon's mom so if you haven't read it go check it out, I bet you would enjoy it. Pichooi is a sweetheart too, I haven't heard from her in about a month though so I hope she is alright, she said she was going on vacation in Switzerland but I don't know what happened after that. Check her out though.

Any way I will update soon or when I get a good inspiration, most of this chapter had good inspiration, lately that's been hard to come by. Any way I have to go write a POV on someone killing some other dude for Creative writing, doesn't that sound like fun?


	10. Chapter 10

The evening sky was now a dark purplish color with a hint of pink as the last light of day faded in the west. The grass rustled calmly as the wind blew by while waiting for all the night animals to come out and graze upon its soil. A few crickets chirped in the distance and all was quiet until a faint rustling of grass stirred through the night air.

Most of the pride lands were sleeping now including the lions, that is except for Simba who had decided to go out for a late evening stroll. He couldn't sleep for some reason and he felt that maybe some of the late night breeze would tire him up a bit. Quietly he trudged through the grass until he felt his paws touching dirt. The old lion looked down to see a freshly made mound at the base of a tree and next to another mound that was now covered in grass and had a few pink flowers dotting around it.

The new mound was Pumbaa's grave the other with the flowers was Timon's. Simba looked down at both of them quizzically for a moment and then took a long heavy sigh. Silently a tear fell down his face and dropped off his whiskers stirring up the dust that it fell into. He couldn't believe how much he had not cried for Pumbaa yet, it felt as if he had forgotten him instantly and Simba suddenly felt terrible.

"I'm so sorry Pumbaa I should have stayed with you when you wanted to stay by the waterhole, you wouldn't have died so early. But I bet Timon is happy to see you again, tell the old bugger that I miss his smart aleck comments and how he would make a dull room seem brighter," Simba said as he stared down at the fresh grave.

Simba had no idea how long he sat there staring down at his old friends, all he knew was that the night was calm and peaceful and that it was a good night to be with his departed friends under the stars once again.

But the silence was soon broken by a snap of a twig, Simba turned around to see Jabir standing on a branch watching him quietly.

"Sorry, didn't mean to disturb you," said Jabir.

"No you didn't, it kind of got me out of my trance just now, thinking about old times," said Simba with a sigh.

Jabir swung down from the branch and landed right next to Simba. Jabir saw how he had been shedding a few tears by the long tear stain line going down his muzzle. Simba looked so much older now, his face was sunken in a little more and his muzzle and mane were showing gray around the edges. But his eyes, his lovely brown eyes, were still as lively as ever. It made him look as if he was still ready to tackle life and not call it quits just yet.

"I bet you have many memorable stories with those two, you were lucky to have them," said Jabir.

"Yeah, they were my second fathers, they watched over me, took care of me, and were just there for me, without them I would have never have gotten this kingdom back," said Simba while another tear fell down his face.

"And hopefully this kingdom will stay the way it is," said Jabir.

"Do you think they will make it?" asked Simba knowing that Jabir knew what he was talking about.

"Your grandson has spunk and Hawla is very good at keeping things in order so I don't see why not," said Jabir.

"Let's hope you are right, oh and before I forget, how is Zazu doing?" Simba asked.

Jabir lowered his head and shook it. "Growing weaker and weaker by the day, he could slip away any moment though I am sensing he is trying to stay alive just to see Conga return," he said.

"Is there any way I can see him?" asked Simba.

"You may, he mentioned you a few times today," said Jabir as he led the retired king back to his baobab tree.

Silently they walked together, stepping lightly on the grass so not to wake any of the other animals nearby. Simba kept his head down, thinking about what might become of the beautiful pride lands if the hyenas took over again, he remembered returning home to defeat Scar and how much of a wasteland it was. He wondered if the pride could fight them if they had to.

They reached the tree a few minutes later, Jabir quickly climbed up it while Simba only had to make one leap and he was on the trunk waiting for the shaman to show him to failing Majordomo. Even though it was dark outside, Jabir had found ways to make the tree bright enough to see, how he did it Simba could not tell.

Quietly Jabir made his way over to the place where Zazu lay, a small leaf covered him and Simba could see his chest slowly rise and fall. Simba could hear his short raspy breathing, it did not sound healthy at all. Jabir calmly tapped Zazu on the shoulder and slowly Zazu's eyes opened. He was lying on his back which he claimed was more comfortable than any other position, plus he could see what was going on around him easier, though he did not see Simba right away.

"What's wrong Jabir?" asked Zazu in a gravely voice.

"Nothing Zazu, you just have a visitor, its Simba," said Jabir.

Zazu lifted his head up a little more and saw Simba sitting a few inches away with a worried look on his face. Zazu really did look terrible, his eyes were sunken and he could barely even lift his head up a little bit. But he ignored those problems like nothing was wrong.

"How are you Simba?" Zazu asked.

"I'm fine, I just thought I should see you and check to see how things were going," said Simba.

"Oh I ache but I guess it's a price you have to pay when you have a bad reputation," sighed Zazu as he tried to get comfortable.

"If I ever meet that hyena, I will make him pay for what he did," said Simba.

Zazu said nothing but took a big sigh before coughing heavily. Jabir ran over and poured down a special concoction to help ease the pain and calm his coughing.

"Thanks for helping me all those years Zazu, you were a great friend and a wonderful advisor," said Simba with a small smile.

Zazu gave a weak smile as well. "That's what Majordomo's do, they look out for everyone, even if you hated it when you were a cub," he said as his eyes began to close from the concoction Jabir gave him.

Jabir put his hand on Simba's shoulder who knew it was time for Zazu to sleep some more and slowly began to climb out of the tree.

"Thank you for seeing him, I'm sure he is glad to see you possibly one last time," said Jabir as he followed Simba.

"Your welcome is there any way you can make him less in pain or at least end his suffering?" asked Simba.

"I'm afraid not, its up to the great kings now," said Jabir.

Simba only nodded before climbing back down the tree and headed home to Pride Rock. He wondered what the next day would bring and if the group would arrive at their destination.

* * *

Sauda stood in the middle of the cave, staring at the bones she had just arranged hoping they would tell the future. To her annoyance they weren't saying much.

"So do the bones say that the pride lands will be ours soon?" asked Hatari as he joined the false shaman.

"Not yet, probably because that one band you left behind hasn't done anything yet to that little group following us," growled Sauda.

"Oh don't worry, they won't fail, those three are very clever when it comes to creating traps," said Hatari.

"I hope you are right, I have been waiting years for this and I want to die happy knowing that I succeeded in what I wanted," said Sauda as she made her way to a smaller cave in the back of the main cave where Safiya was being held.

It was guarded by two burley males who enjoyed the occasional teasing causing poor Safiya to cry out for her mother whenever she could. When Sauda arrived they were doing it again, only this time Safiya had bit one of them in the leg.

"Serves you right for doing such a thing to her, now move out of the way, I must speak with her," said Sauda.

The two males backed off as Sauda entered the cave. Safiya crouched in a corner trembling but she was still able to show her bravery by giving Sauda a low hiss and showing the hyena her claws.

"Ah feisty today are we?" asked Sauda.

"Leave me alone, my big brother will come and get you," said Safiya as she tried to back away even though the wall held her back.

Sauda gave an evil laugh. "Your brother will never make it, we have traps for him and we will make sure that he steps into them."

Safiya hissed again and slashed at Sauda with her claws but Sauda was too quick and she continued to laugh at the young princess.

"Hatari!" Sauda yelled.

"Yes Sauda?" he asked as he ran up.

"I want you and Kumanda to help me bring this little brat to the altar, I want to see if she can create any more information on the prophecy," Said Sauda. Hatari ran out of the cave to search for Sauda's ignored husband while Sauda enjoyed watching Safiya growl at her the entire time.

Hatari soon arrived with Kumanda who both began to drag the cub out, ignoring her wailing protests of spitting and trying to claw at them. As soon as Safiya set one paw on the altar she stood still, her eyes dilated and the half moon shape on her chest began to glitter as she began to breathe in fast spurts.

"She's not dying is she?" asked Kumanda who began to back up worriedly.

"No, just watch," said Sauda with a gleam in her eye.

The three watched as Safiya continued to writhe and breathe heavily until finally she stood still and a voice so unnatural like some giant demon came out of her mouth.

"The prophecy is nearing completion but who will be the victor is not known, there are many enemies around you that you must watch out for. The young warrior will be quick and cunning; the winged one will share both sides, while the sharped crown may bring you to an end, an old foe will die before the war, and shadows past will fight for what belongs to them. Watch for these signs for they can change at any moment."

Sauda stared at Safiya, so many questions needed to be answered she wasn't sure what to ask. "Sharped Crown? Shadows Past? What do these all mean?" she asked.

"Prophecies cannot be answered simply, find out for yourself," the voice growled.

"Then when will be the best time to begin the altar ceremony?" asked Sauda.

"In five days time when the moon is brightest and two stars almost as bright will shine above and below it," said the voice.

"And will the ones from the pride lands be dead by the time this happens?" asked Sauda.

"Once again the prophecy will not be answered simply, you will have to find out in future time," said the voice.

Sauda ran up to Safiya in a rage wanting a simple answer but as soon as she stepped onto the altar, Safiya's eyes returned to normal and her breathing became steady once again.

Sauda growled under her throat as she watched Safiya flop down heavily onto the hard rock, she looked exhausted now and didn't even care when Hatari lifted her up and brought her back to the cave. All the while Sauda followed, her mind heavy with the thoughts of what was to come.

* * *

**Extremely important authors note, please read and respond if you can**: There's another boring chapter for you, sorry it took forever, this story is just not getting to me which brings me to a very important question which I want you all to answer. Should I continue this? Are any of you bored with this story? Do any of you think my writing has declined since I first started? Actually I know it did but I just want to know if you guys want me to keep going, I seem to be getting less and less reviews any way. But please let me know, I don't want to keep going on something that no one is interested in. And please don't sugar coat it, tell me the truth I won't care what you say.

With that out of the way its time for me to suggest an awesome author, MorpheusDreamer. I know he hasn't been heard from in forever but his stories are fantastic no matter how many times you read them, even though his last one is unfinished grrrr. I used to talk to him all the time but since the end of December I haven't gotten any emails back from him. In fact I have written a few emails and they all keep bouncing back to me, it's very weird. Have any of you guys heard from him?

Any way please check him out if you haven't, you would be very glad you did.


	11. The Crossing

Kijani peered through the bushes; he eyed the scenery around him wondering if Kairu was telling the truth about a log bridge that would help them cross over a gorge he was telling them about. The jungle had now given way to a large clearing where a jagged ravine ran right through the middle. Kijani decided to jump out for a closer inspection to see how high up the ravine was. Slowly he made his way over making sure there were no enemies in sight and looked down. What he saw made him quite dizzy, there was a long drop to the bottom where he could see a tiny ribbon of water flowing freely down it.

Hondo soon joined him and gave a whistle of amazement. "Woah and I thought Pride Rock was high up," he said.

Kijani nodded. "But do you see a log anywhere nearby?" he asked.

Hondo looked around until he found it, the trunk hidden behind some bushes. Hondo ran over and began to inspect it, he put one paw on the log and tested it to see if it would move, it moved only slightly but it seemed perfect to cross.

"It feels sturdy, looks safe to cross," said Hondo as Kijani ran over.

"Then we better get the others and start crossing," said Kijani as he disappeared back into the bushes, Hondo following close behind.

The group was resting by a tree when Kijani arrived looking quite proud of what he and Hondo found.

"Looks like Kairu was telling the truth, there is a log bridge just over there and it's sturdy enough to cross," said Kijani.

"I told you we use it to cross from time to time," said Kairu with a growl.

"Well lets not waist another moment dilly dallying lets get a move on," said Hawla as she stood up and disappeared behind a bush.

The others followed, Kairu sat on Kijani's back looking around nervously for any signs of the hyenas, they had visited him last night saying that they would be waiting and hiding ready to destroy the whole group. Kairu knew in the pit of his stomach that he probably would not make it out alive himself but it was probably best to sacrifice for the good of the prophecy.

"I know you said it was sturdy, but do you think it would work for a hoofed mammal like me?" asked Demo as he looked at the log while Hawla jumped on it.

"It seems flat enough right here, I bet many creatures like you cross it all the time," said Hawla.

"Yeah I can even smell a gazelle right there," said Hondo as he set his paw on the log.

"Just take it easy and don't look down," said Dinari as he patted his friend on the head.

Demo sighed and took a step on the log, it did feel sturdy to him so he put his other leg on, once he felt that it was safe he brought his hind legs on until all four legs stood on the log, locked into place. Demo sighed with relief and took another step before smiling; it wasn't as hard as it looked after all.

Kairu did not watch any of this but instead stared at two rocks that looked a little too furry to be a real rock. He knew that the two hyenas were waiting until the group was in the middle of the log so they would not jump back to safety if they saw them too quickly. Kairu watched and waited for another moment when one of the rocks suddenly moved, it was Mooza.

"Well well well, I see you guys followed the white ones advice and decided to cross this log," she said with an evil chuckle.

The group turned and stared at Kairu who pretended to be utterly confused. "I don't know what she is talking about," he said in a fake embarrassed voice.

"I cannot believe how easy this was, you guys will trust anyone, but I guess now it is time to trust the fishes because that is who you all are visiting," said Mooza.

Hawla growled and was about to run toward Mooza when she broke a piece of a root that was keeping the log intact. Rugar joined her and gave a slight push on the log, in an instant the log began to move from side to side. Kijani held on with his claws but Hawla was not ready to stand there and give up. Instead she gave a powerful roar and leapt at Mooza who was taken completely off guard.

Kijani and Hondo watched as Hawla fought with Mooza while Demo stood there nervously as the log continued to rock back and forth while Conga and Mahiri both gave Kairu and icy stare.

"You son of a bitch, you knew about this the whole time and led us into this trap," said Conga who now had her wings around his neck ready to kill any second. Kairu squirmed but there was nothing he could do, he was still tied tightly with the vine.

Suddenly he felt himself falling as the log finally gave way and plunged down the ravine. Conga had let go and was flying nearby looking at everyone worriedly. Kijani and Hondo both had their claws dug deep into the log; they both had the look of fear on their faces wondering why their lives would have end so soon like this. Demo was trying his hardest to stay on the log but there was no way he could and so now he was hovering just above in thin air, Dinari beside him, wishing he could give his best friend wings.

Back up above the ravine, Mooza was fighting for her life as Hawla began to tear her apart. Rugar watched not sure what to do and too afraid to fight back, he knew that they needed someone to return to the clan and say that it was a success but he also knew that sacrifices could be made if this situation came up. Noticing how close both were to the edge he was able to run up and push them both as hard as he could. Hawla felt herself loose grip on the ground and looked just in time to see her hind legs slip and catch nothing but thin air.

Rugar watched Mooza fall, he could see her face clearly still, covered in blood and looking up at him for the last time with a worried face. One paw was reaching out to him as if Rugar could catch her but she was too far now and there was nothing he could do.

"I'm so sorry Mooza," he said silently.

Rugar let a tear fall from his eyes as Mooza became a speck down the ravine. He felt awful but he knew it was for the best and he had to carry on with the news of the successful attack.

Kijani felt the world spinning around him as fell into the water. It was the most painful feeling, as if hundreds of needles had hit him at once and knocked the wind right out of him. He struggled to the surface but it felt like the current kept pulling him under. He knew he had to keep going, he knew he had to make his father proud and save the pride lands. With as much strength as he could muster, he leapt toward the surface until he felt that wonderful air around him.

Hondo was nearby clinging to what was left of the log and Demo was trying to swim as Dinari kept calling encouragement to him. He then saw Conga, she wasn't flying above but was flowing along looking angrily down at the water and he knew instantly what she was doing when a white head came up out of the water. She was torturing Kairu, dunking him in and out of the water as if he were laundry being cleaned. Kijani had to stop her though, somehow he knew that Kairu could help them the rest of the way and that he had to save him.

Conga held Kairu's head underwater, she wanted him to drown like everyone else but she wanted to make sure he died in a way that would make him realize that what he did was wrong and she didn't care how long she would do it to him. She did not even see Kijani swim up behind her until he grabbed her tail feathers hard. She quickly let go and looked up at Kijani angrily who then quickly scooped up Kairu.

"What the hell are you doing, I'm trying to kill the bastard!" she said with anger in her voice as she climbed up Kijani's shoulder. The voice had an anger that had not been heard in years and it made Kijani flinch.

"Conga calm down, where is Mahiri?" asked Kijani.

"I think he's with Dinari helping Demo but what does this have to do with this white devil," she growled.

"Go get him, I have a plan that involves Kairu's vine and I am going to need all four of you guys to help," said Kijani as he tried to figure out the tight hold around the white hornbills wings.

"How will we know he is not going to run off when you set him free," Conga said with a glare at Kairu.

Kijani and Conga both looked at Kairu who had the look of exhaustion on his face after being dunked several times by Conga into the rushing water.

"Don't worry, I don't think I will go any where especially when Conga is right here ready to drown me," he said in a raspy voice.

"Good because if you do escape I will kill you," said Conga.

"Just stop wasting time and get Dinari and Mahiri," said Kijani as he swiped his paw at her.

Conga ducked gave a quick nod before flying over to the others while Kijani undid Kairu's straps. It took a few seconds to negotiate but once he got it loose the untying was easy from there.

"What exactly are we doing?" asked Kairu as he sat on Kijani's shoulders and rubbed his wings to bring the sensation back.

"I know this sounds crazy but I want you, Conga, Dinari, and Mahiri to pull us out, I noticed how there is a ledge over there that can probably get us to safety before we all drown or fall down a waterfall," said Kijani as he gave one end to Kairu.

"Hmmm and I thought this whole time you didn't know how to think properly, there is a way out on that ledge, and there is a waterfall just a few ways away so we better hurry, I have seen a few hyenas fall to their deaths when they patrol this area," said Kairu.

Kijani nodded, a little annoyed by what Kairu said but chose to ignore it. He then swam over to Demo who was too afraid to move away from the log, the only protection he felt he had.

"Demo grab onto this, I'll be right behind you," said Kijani as he showed the okapi the vine.

"I can't I'm too scared," said Demo as he hugged the log tightly.

"Demo there is a waterfall not far from here, you don't want to fall off that, now just trust me, I'll be right behind you the whole time," said Kijani.

Demo looked up at Dinari who nodded. "Do what he says Demo, it will save your life," he said in a very parental voice.

Demo gave a quick whimper before grabbing the vine with his teeth, Kijani floated behind him while signaling Hondo to follow.

"You're not leaving me behind," said a familiar voice a second later as Hawla jumped in front of Hondo.

"Did you jump in after us?" asked Kijani very surprised to see the brave lioness.

"No one of those hyenas pushed me in, though I took one of them down with me, she's gone now, dead as soon as she hit the water," said Hawla.

"Ah Mooza wonderful hunter with an attitude like ice," hissed Kairu as he pulled. Conga and the other three stared at him. Kairu just gave them a glare with his burning red eyes.

They then reached the ledge, it was slow go and quite hard but the four birds managed to get the other four over. Kijani gave Demo a quick shove with his head as he scurried up the rock face. He slid a little because of his hooves but Kijani made sure the okapi made it up there without falling back in. It took a lot of muscle but Demo finally made it up and collapsed once he was all the way up, breathing heavily and glad to be back on dry land.

It didn't take Kijani long to get up, he just gripped one part of the rock with his back legs and gave a quick leap before landing on the ledge with ease. Hawla was next and it took her a few seconds to negotiate and without realizing it, accidentally cutting part of the vine and sending Hondo flying back in the water.

No one even noticed until Hawla was fully out and Kijani heard his cries for help as the current pulled him far down the river.

"Hondo!" Kijani cried as he ran through the ledge hoping to find a way to catch up to his best friend.

"Kijani do you think the vine will help?" asked Conga as she flew beside him.

"I don't think so, the current is too strong over here now," said Kijani as he saw Hondo go under for a moment. For a split second he wanted to jump in and save him but knew it would be too risky and Hondo did come back up a few seconds later.

Kijani was soon able to find a log jutting out of the ledge and ran as fast as he could to catch up, he arrived just in time as Hondo was just about to flow right past him. He stuck out his paw hoping that Hondo would grab it. Hondo reached out but before he could even touch Kijani he was sucked under and did not appear again until well past the log.

"He's done for," said Kairu in a nonchalant voice.

"And it's all because of you," said Conga as she stared nose to nose at him. Kairu backed down, he knew how angry she was and he did not want deal with her wrath again.

Suddenly they heard Kijani cry out and raced to see what was going on. When they reached him he was standing over a ledge, eyes wide with shock and worry. Conga and Kairu both looked down to see one last glimpse of Hondo as he disappeared down the falls.

* * *

A/N: Mwahahahahahahaha. I cannot believe I wrote this chapter. It was just a sudden spurt that came out of nowhere and I am proud of it. But that doesn't mean I am out of the woods yet I might go on hiatus if I cannot come up with something like this this fast again. But we will see, for now I am happy especially since I left you all in a cliffhanger, literally. Conga is probably a little out of character too but hey she can get pissed from time to time if she wants. And I thank those who actually spent some time to review and tell me to keep going, I know there are others of you who are too afraid too tell me I suck, well you guys need to tell me so I can maybe take some of your advice on how to fix myself.

Any way I better shut up now and give you a new writer to read. Her name is SunRise19. She has been my friend since January of 2004 when I first arrived at the Mulan section; I had been spending my first few months writing an Animaniacs fic that got no reviews so I decided to move on to Mushu stories. She is actually joined almost exactly a month after me of the same year as well. She was my second reviewer and has been a reviewer for me ever since, she is such a nice person and a great friend to talk to even though I tend to wander off when I am talking to her online, I'm such a moron sometimes. Any way Sunrise19 has I believe five or six stories in the lion king section, including one hilarious parody in the mature section. Her stories were written a long time ago so they are finished but they are still worth checking out because they are lovely. I know Kahllynn would like them because Kiara and Vitani are actually half sisters. And she teamed up with another writer a few years ago as well and wrote Lost Cub under the name of AmberSunrise, I believe it is unfinished but still worth checking out and begging for more.

Well that's all for now, please review I think it helps keep me going.


	12. Changing sides

It was already twilight by the time Kairu had led Kijani and the others out of the canyon. It was tough going and Kijani kept crying out for Hondo every few feet hoping that his best friend would answer him and run up to give him a big lick on the face. Demo had the worst time trying to follow because he could not grip on the rocks and when Dinari tried to tell them to slow down, Kijani only growled and ignored him as he ran down the rock face. Hawla chose to stay behind and make sure they got out safely.

As soon as Kijani was safe on solid ground, he ran straight to the river and the edge of the waterfall where he knew Hondo would have probably ended up.

"Hondo where are you?" he cried as he searched around.

Conga searched nearby as well and for a while she thought it would be hopeless and that Hondo would never be seen again until she saw something drifting between two rocks a little ways downstream.

"What do you suppose that is?" asked Conga to Mahiri.

"I don't know, maybe its Hondo," said Mahiri who flew over to investigate, Conga right behind him.

Conga landed in front of the mass with Mahiri who stared wide in shock, it was Hondo and he wasn't moving.

"Jani I found him!" she cried out as Kairu landed beside her.

Kijani ran over as fast as he could, calling out Hondo's name the whole way. When he reached his best friend he looked down at the lifeless form and began to cry.

"Please don't be dead Hondo, you're my best friend, life would be so boring without you," said Kijani as he hugged his best friend tightly.

At that same moment, Hawla arrived with Demo and Dinari who both looked down at the still form of Hondo wondering if his life had ebbed away. Hawla stared at the wild dog for a moment; she never really liked him but still felt worried about whether or not he was still alive. Of course she couldn't really tell because Kijani continued to hold him tightly and shake from his crying.

"Will you hold still for a moment, I want to check something," said Hawla who then put her paw in front of Hondo's nose. She felt a small, warm breeze touch her paw and she knew she had to get Hondo out now.

"He's alive but we better get him out of here, he could get hypothermia and then we would be in really deep water," said Hawla as she began to drag him out.

"Oh please don't mention water any more, I feel like its swimming in my ears," said Mahiri.

"But you didn't get stuck in that river, you were flying over everyone," said Conga.

"Yeah but I still got waterlogged," said Mahiri ruffling his feathers before flying up to see where Hawla was going to take the unconscious Hondo.

They didn't have to go far, there were many trees around and Hawla found a nice spot to keep themselves hidden from any danger. Hawla gently set Hondo in a small hollow area next to a rock and then lay beside him. Kijani watched with awe at how easily Hawla took care of the situation he was definitely glad that she was there to help.

"Join me, we need to keep as much body heat in him as we can," said Hawla. Kijani quietly nodded and lay down on the other side of Hondo. He could feel the young dog shivering and he stared at him nervously.

"That's perfectly normal, his body is trying to keep the warmth in by shivering," said Hawla.

"How do you know so much?" asked Kijani.

"When I was a very young cub, my brother fell into our waterhole and nearly drowned, we rescued him and our grandmother showed us how to get him dry because he was in so much shock," said Hawla.

"Well I am glad you know this, Hondo would have probably never made it," said Kijani.

"Well he's not out of the woods yet, we might have to stay here for a few days, he could have some broken bones," said Hawla.

Kijani only nodded and put his head down on the ground praying that Hondo would be okay and that they could rescue Safiya in time. Hawla looked at Kijani sadly, knowing that loosing his best friend would be too painful for him. She then gave him a small lick on the ear and then nuzzled him. Kijani only smiled and nuzzled right back. The two lions had finally become friends.

A few feet away, Dinari, Conga, and Mahiri watched with Demo who was trying his hardest to get rid of some mud on one of his hooves. All three sighed at the sight of the two lions helping each other out.

"It's amazing how easily something can bring two creatures together," said Dinari with a sigh.

"Yeah, such a lovely looking couple," said Mahiri.

Conga nodded with a yawn and then suddenly realized that they were missing someone. "Wait a minute, where is Kairu?" she asked.

"Oh no I totally forgot about him," said Dinari as he looked around as well.

"Great he'll probably go back and tell the hyenas we are here and then we will be ambushed," said Conga with angry growl.

"I don't think we need to worry about that," said Mahiri.

Why not?' asked Conga.

"He's actually over there next to that tree," said Mahiri as he pointed to a small white puff that looked almost like a strange flower.

Conga stared at Kairu, whose back was facing them, wondering why he was over there by himself and decided to go and investigate.

"Kairu what are you doing?" asked Conga when she reached him.

"It's all my fault," he said as he turned to face Conga, tears streaming down his face.

"I'm dying now because of it, see the water coming out of my eyes, I'll be blind in a few hours because of what I've done," said Kairu as he tried his hardest not to cry.

Conga could not believe what she was hearing; Kairu had never cried in his life, those hyenas must have made him pure evil.

"You're not dying Kairu, its called crying everyone feels that way when they get emotional. Sometimes it's from being sad after seeing a friend get hurt, sometimes its being afraid of something bad happening, heck we even cry when we are happy," said Conga.

"So this strange feeling in my head right now is sadness?" asked Kairu looking so young and innocent looking.

"Or guilt because you did this to us," said Conga.

"Yeah, I guess being around Sauda all my life has taught me nothing but hate," said Kairu.

"So she showed you no compassion?" asked Conga.

"No, when a hyena was injured or dying she would tell everyone that it was not our concern and that they should take care of themselves. I had never seen any hyena show compassion to someone hurt, I don't even think cubs were valued very much," said Kairu wiping tears out of his eyes.

"What happened to your parents?" asked Conga who now did not like the thought of living with a pack who showed no compassion.

Kairu looked confused for a moment like he had never heard that word before. "I don't think I had ever had a parent before except for Migwi, he was the one who killed the warthog," said Kairu.

"Oh my, you must have been taken from your family very early then to not know who they are," said Conga.

"I wonder if they are still alive," said Kairu.

"I guess only the hyenas know," said Conga.

Kairu looked down on the ground and watched as his tears fell into the earth; it was indeed a strange feeling and he wondered if it meant a change was coming into his life. He then glimpsed up at the newly formed stars of the evening and it made him wonder what was going on in his home that he suddenly felt so much hate for.

"Conga?" he said quietly.

Conga was also looking up at the stars as well but when he said her name she looked down at him with curious eyes. "Hmmm?" she asked.

"I'm so sorry, I wish this would have never happened, Sauda poisoned my mind with her evil thoughts of conquering the pride lands. She trained me to only do one thing and that was to follow in her footsteps and hate everything that wasn't like her," said Kairu as more tears began to fall down his face.

"Kairu, as long as you know that what you did was wrong, everything will be okay. If you are telling the truth too we can rescue Safiya easily," said Conga who patted his shoulder.

"I am telling the truth, I don't want to go back to Sauda, I just want to live a normal life and help you guys as much as I can. Seeing how you guys work to help one another makes me feel good," said Kairu his red eyes showing concern and hope.

"Well I am glad, now come and join us, sleeping alone is never fun," said Conga.

Kairu followed Conga back to the little group who had all been watching them quietly. Once they had all settled down, Kairu fell asleep with thoughts swimming in his mind. What if Sauda was able to bring him back to his hate filled lifestyle? What if Sauda figured it out? And was the prophecy finally shattered?

* * *

Hondo awoke many hours later; everyone was sound asleep so for a moment he was not sure where he was. His whole body ached so he knew he wasn't dead, his grandmother had told him numerous times that when you died, you would feel no pain.

Slowly the wild dog got up so he could see if anything had broken. He walked a little ways and soon found out that his left shoulder was quite sore, it didn't feel broken but it was enough for him to need to walk on three legs.

Quietly he limped over to the river and carefully he stepped in to get a quick drink. It felt refreshing even after nearly loosing his life in there. Once his throat was quenched he limped back out of the water and gave his fur a quick shake. The noise awoke Hawla who looked up at the sound. For a moment she could not figure out what the creature was and growled at it.

"It's just me Hawla, I had to get up and see if I had any broken bones," said Hondo as he limped over.

"Oh good you are awake, is your leg okay?" asked Hawla jumping up and sniffing his leg.

"Yeah I think its okay, probably just bruised it," said Hondo.

"Oh good, but I guess we will have to wait for a few days to let you rest. Don't want to overstrain it," said Hawla as she motioned Hondo to return to where he had been laying down.

Hondo nodded and lay back down behind Kijani who did not even wake up.

"He must be a heavy sleeper," said Hawla as she joined Hondo.

"Yeah he slept through a stampede once, he didn't wake up until one of the gazelles had strayed too far from the stampede and hit him in the head with its hoof," said Hondo.

"Oh so that's what's wrong with him," laughed Hawla.

Hondo gave a slight chuckle before yawning. Hawla did the same before curling up into a ball and falling back asleep. Hondo was still quite exhausted so it did not take him long to curl up and fall asleep as well. It had been a long day and all were grateful to be alive.

* * *

A/N: Meh another chapter, Kairu probably turned good too fast but I don't care, I don't feel like spending so many chapters trying to convince him to be good. And I am amazed at how many people reviewed all freaking three of you! Geeze talk about wanting me to keep going. I'm not even going to bother suggesting an author, it just doesn't seem like any one wants to check out those people either. Yeah this is how I feel when I am tired; spring break was not a break.

On the lighter side, on April 7th Memoirs of a Blue Bird will be celebrating two years of being around, well the first chapter appeared on that date any way, feels weird, doesn't seem like two years. Cool though. And I'll be 22 on the 6th. What will I be doing on Good Friday? What else working like always. Oh well at least I'll get money for it.

I'll update when I feel like it.


	13. Rescue

A/N: First off if I seem to be extremely grumpy sounding or acting like a cry baby go ahead and slap me or something. I've just been stressed or something lately so yeah on with the story.

* * *

The full moon was shining brightly on the altar where Sauda stood, she had been waiting for this moment for many days and in only a short time the Pride Lands would easily become hers. Some of the hyenas paced back and forth while a few others murmured quietly about what they planned to do when they were in the pride lands.

Kairu had been sent by Kijani to go spy on Sauda and then report back as soon as he could. At the moment he was standing by the doorway unsure on how to make an entrance. Migwi of course fixed that up for him.

"Kairu, I thought you were dead," he said when he turned to see the figure in the den entrance.

"No I was able to fight my way to the surface, it was quite hard but once I was able to cling to a rock I was able to get out easily, no thanks to Rugar there," said Kairu as he tried to sound like he had in front of the hyenas and giving Rugar his dark cold stare.

"Well someone had to go back and tell the others what I had done," growled Rugar from a nearby rock. He stayed well away from Kairu, for a small bird he looked deadly.

"Enough arguing, for one I am glad Kairu is alive, I needed one of his feathers, an old one from his nest looked to straggly for me to use," said Sauda as she walked over and plucked a feather off Kairu's back. Kairu flinched but stood his ground.

"So when will the ceremony begin?" asked Kairu.

"When the moon is in the center of the hole, it should happen quite soon," said Sauda.

Kairu gulped, he did not realize that as soon as he got back, Safiya would be sacrificed; he had to warn the group quickly.

"We are also going to have a feast afterward, half the pack will not be here since they must go out and hunt. Exciting isn't it?" asked Sauda whose voice never rose or fell as she spoke.

"Very much so, and if you don't mind I would like to step out for a moment," said Kairu.

"Very well, but please come back soon, I need you to watch with me," said Sauda.

Kairu only nodded as he hurried out the den toward the group who was hiding about a mile away in a rocky area. They all knew something was up when Kairu came flying in quite fast.

"They are doing it soon," he said.

"Oh thank goodness my leg healed quickly, we would have never made it," said Hondo.

"What will the situation be like?" asked Hawla.

"Half the clan will be hunting for a feast once the altar is complete, that's at least fifteen members, too many for you guys," said Kairu.

Kijani looked at his friends worriedly, he did not like the sound of this at all and trying to sneak past hyenas was no easy task.

"Hmmm I hope I am seeing correctly but is there a group of giraffes over there?" asked Demo as he squinted and pointed with his nose at about seven skinny looking trees in the distance.

"Why yes they are but why are you so worried about them?" asked Hawla.

"Maybe they can help us, they are strong and have powerful hooves, easily keeping hyenas occupied," said Demo.

Kijani looked at Hawla with fascination, Demo was right it was definitely a good plan.

"Go ahead and get them then, but warn them first that they are dealing with lions but we promise not to attack or eat in any way," said Kijani.

Demo nodded and with Dinari on his shoulder, both headed toward the small group. Kijani, Hawla, Hondo, Conga, Kairu, and Mahiri all waited silently hoping that the giraffe would agree to help and not be fearful of them.

A few minutes later though they saw Demo running back with one of the giraffe's following him close behind. Obviously the leader.

"My okapi cousin says you all need help," she stated in a heavy tone no doubt making sure she sounded healthy and ready to run if she needed to.

"Yes we do, we need to rescue my sister, she is trapped by the hyenas and we need to get in and rescue her. The only problem is that half the clan will be out hunting and I was wondering if you could distract them," said Kijani a little nervously. The giraffe's size made him feel quite humble and he really did not want to meet those powerful hooves.

The giraffe stared at them for a moment all the while chewing at her cud before finally swallowing it. "Those hyenas have been troublesome, they killed a calf about a month ago and we have wanted to teach them a lesson or two so we will help."

"Oh thank you so much, you don't know how much this means to us," said Kijani as he grinned from ear to ear.

"Let me get the others, oh and my name is Muziki," she said.

Kijani watched Muziki lumber back over to her herd while Hawla began to organize a plan.

"Okay here is what we do, as soon as we see the hyenas come out to hunt, the giraffes will run out, one will look injured, and so while those hyenas are distracted we run toward the den and sneak in hopefully undetected. Now I know that by the time we near the altar there will be a lot of them so we might all need to fight. But Kijani, your job is to get Safiya and get out. As soon as you have her we run until I say we stop is that understood?" asked Hawla.

The group nodded and Demo looked extremely nervous about the whole situation especially since his senses weren't so good. Dinari somehow sensed this and promised him that everything would be alright and he would be his eyes.

"I better head back before Sauda suspects something, I will be waiting for you guys and I will try to get home with you guys, if not then good luck," said Kairu.

"Thank you Kairu I know this will be difficult trying to stay on different sides," said Conga.

Kairu only nodded before flying off and it was only a few minutes later when the giraffes returned looking very excited.

"Well it looks like we are all into this I was not expecting that, I guess we all haven't had much action lately," said Muziki.

"And I am very glad you all approve, we may have to disappear as soon as I get my sister out so if we don't see you again then thank you," said Kijani.

Muziki only nodded before she turned to the herd asking which one wanted to pretend to be the one that was injured. It was a much smaller giraffe who agreed on that and she began to pretend like her leg was injured.

Kairu reached the den a few minutes later where Sauda stood at the entrance waiting patiently. Kairu said nothing but only landed on Sauda's shoulder as she headed back inside.

"It is time, stand by the altar and set one of your tail feathers there, I'm going to get Safiya," said Sauda.

Kairu only nodded as he flew over to the altar and plucked one of his tail feathers off. Sauda came in a few seconds later with Safiya hissing and spitting and she tried to get Sauda to let her go. Sauda gave no notice as she turned to her hunters and nodded for them to head out and get some prey. The hyenas quickly slunk out while Sauda roughly set Safiya on the altar.

For a moment, Safiya growled and was about to run when the moonlight suddenly caught her in a trance. Sauda smiled happily.

"It's time," Sauda said with enthusiasm and began to mutter her chants while the rest of the pack watched. Kairu stood nearby watching the entrance and waiting for the group to arrive.

Back with the giraffes Hondo saw some hyenas lurk in the grass, he pointed them out to Kijani who nodded to the herd. Muziki nodded to the small giraffe who walked out and pretended to limp, it caught the hyena's attention instantly and slowly the group began to stalk.

Once they were safe to make the right moves, Hawla nodded to them and they began their way to the den. It was slow going because Hawla stopped every few minutes to make sure the hyenas did not spot them. It made Kijani's patience wear thin and just when he was about to make a run for it Hawla burst out of the grass and ran straight toward the cave. The others followed her as fast as they could and were almost out of breath when they reached the den entrance.

"Now everyone stay on the alert, you may never know where a hyena may be lurking," said Hawla.

They all nodded as they followed Hawla into the den, it was eerily quiet save for the whispered sounds of Sauda far back in the cave. Kijani wanted to go now but Hawla kept holding him back, she did not want anything to mess up, not after going so far.

They were finally close to the altar area when Hawla spotted a hyena standing near the entrance. She growled under her breath before quietly stalking him and pinning him to the ground.

The hyenas wind was knocked clear out of him and it took him a minute to realize that there was a large lioness standing above him. He was about to call out for help when Hawla ended his life with a quick bite to the jugular. Everyone stared at her in amazement, Hondo held his neck.

"Ugh you really know how to finish things," he said.

Hawla only growled before staring at Kijani. Kijani looked at Hawla too nervous to do anything.

"Get out there now, we are behind you," Hawla said.

Kijani slowly inched his way towards the entrance to the altar. At first he was scared until he saw his sister standing and staring up at the pale moonlight while Sauda muttered chants. Kairu was a few feet away watching for them nervously. Kijani knew he had to do it now and without a second glance at his friends, he ran toward his sister at full force. The others right behind him, scratching, kicking and pecking to keep Kijani out of harms way.

The hyenas yelled in shock at the sudden attack causing Sauda to stop her chants and turn to them angrily.

"Can't you see we are trying to rule the Pride Lands?" she growled before noticing Kijani running straight at her.

Before Sauda could react, Kijani gave her a heavy blow to the face with his paw, claws out and all, sending her falling to the ground. While Kijani leapt up the altar and grabbed his sister by the neck before landing on the other side.

As soon as he landed though, Hatari was standing there waiting for him, ready to fight and keep the cub for the pack.

"Going somewhere you brat," said Hatari ready to spring.

"Yeah I'm going home with my sister," growled Kijani as he bowled Hatari over as hard as he could. Hatari was knocked flat on his back and quickly lost consciousness as his head met the hard earth.

Kijani ran toward the entrance, the others quickly following, they had all fought their way out, some hyenas cowered and backed away while a few others ran after them hoping to catch up and fight.

Kairu decided to play along and flew over to Sauda who was nursing her injured cheek. "Do you need me to follow them?" asked Kairu.

"Yes, and bring some hyenas and Migwi with you, I want them all dead for trying to take away my victory," growled Sauda.

Kairu nodded nervously, he was not expecting that and he hoped he could think of a good plan. He yelled out to Migwi and some hyenas to follow him out of the cave and catch the group. When they reached outside, eight hyenas who had chased the group out were standing there looking quite scared. One of the members were bleeding badly after Hawla decided to teach them a lesson for following them.

"Those lions really know how to pack punch," said one.

"Yeah but we need to get that cub back or you will never get the pride lands," said Migwi.

"But how are we going to fight them?" asked another.

Migwi slapped his face. "For goodness sakes, there are five of them and at least ten of you, now go out there and get them," he said.

Realizing that they were large in number the small pack howled and ran after the group, the sudden attack had caught them off guard so their thinking was most likely messed up. Luckily Migwi was there to fix that.

Kairu flew behind trying to figure out how they could loose the group, they hyenas he could loose but Migwi was something else. He was just about to come up with a plan when Migwi called to him.

"You're thinking about loosing me aren't you," Migwi said with a glare.

Kairu stopped dead, hovering in midair and staring at his foster father. "H-ho-how did you know?" asked Kairu.

"I kept seeing you glance at the entrance during the ceremony and you probably would have made it back from the river a few days earlier if you didn't decide to become alliances with them," said Migwi.

Kairu looked down at the ground and at the group of hyenas who were sent out to go after the group, they were waiting and wondering what was going on.

"I saw compassion, kill me if you want I don't want to go back to my old ways" said Kairu his eyes full of worry.

Migwi gave him a sly smile. "You think I would kill you, if anything you should kill me, I killed your father. I knew this life was not good for you the moment I laid eyes on you. How about this, I'll give your friends a head start and I'll send the hyenas a different way while you head back with them. But I'll only do this once, next time you might not be so lucky," said Migwi.

"Thank you my friend, maybe one day I will repay you," said Kairu.

"Go now and good luck," said Migwi as he flapped his wings heavily.

Kairu nodded and flew as fast as he could back to his friends. Migwi on the other hand had a plan of his own. He led the hyenas toward the giraffes where half the pack was now trapped getting the kicking of their lives.

* * *

A/N: So there's my newest chapter. Not as great as you guys could have thought though I know. Sorry it took me so long too; my laptop was being a moron again.

Any way time to recommend someone if you haven't read them already. This time it's MinisterSweetGoodKid. One of the nicest members around. She has two great stories up right now one called Grudges and Prices and the other Of Legacies and Cycles. Both are amazingly good, yet on occasion amazingly sad. If you haven't seen her work check it out, you would be glad you did.

Oh and Random Person. No it did not take me two years, it was two years ago when I started on Memoirs of a Blue Bird which was the first story to this trilogy I have done. It's in my profile if you want to check it out. It sucks I think, but for some reason people like it. Oh well thanks for that review.

Well I hope to update soon I want to get this story over and done with, I believe I have about eight more chapters to go, can't remember. But I can't wait til this is over, because I will be taking a long break from this site. Well see you all later and please remember to review and tell me what sucks and what doesn't.


	14. Rest and thoughts

It was well into the late afternoon the next day by the time Hawla felt it was safe to stop. She found a nice sheltered area where a small pond stood and all around were spots where they could sleep comfortably for the rest of the night. Hawla sniffed around and then took a small drink from the pool before turning to Kijani who had set Safiya down.

"Is she alright?" asked Hawla.

Safiya sat there staring up at them like she had never seen them before until Kijani gave her a comforting lick on the face.

"Do you know who we are Safiya?" asked Kijani.

Safiya looked up at her big brother, for a moment she could not speak until she gave a quick gulp of new air.

"Yes Kijani, you are my brother and your best friend is with you and so is Conga and Mahiri but I have never seen the others," said Safiya looking at Hawla nervously.

"This is Hawla, she lives with Aunty Vitani, the others are Demo and Dinari. You must know Kairu too, since he did capture you," said Kijani. Kairu had caught up with them sometime that morning.

"I do know him, but it is strange, the flames on him are not as strong," said Safiya as she cocked her head.

"Flames?" asked Kijani.

"Yeah, when I first saw him a while back he was burning like lightening had hit him, most of the hyenas are like that too. I was so afraid when Sauda touched me because she felt so hot and evil," said Safiya.

Everyone looked at Safiya puzzled, she did mention that Kairu was burning when she first saw him but Kiara and Kovu had only believed it was her imagination. But to see it again in other animals, it was truly strange.

"So the hyenas burn?" asked Kijani.

"Yeah, but isn't that normal, I mean can't you guys see it?" asked Safiya.

Kijani looked at Hawla unsure of what to say. Hawla was even puzzled by this strange gift.

"What about us though, do you see anything on us?" asked Kijani trying bypass the last question Safiya asked.

"I do but yours are different, I see a bright light around you guys, some of the hyenas had it too. It's not bright on some but on others it's radiant like Grandpa," said Safiya.

"Well I'll be damned!" exclaimed Kairu with an excited yet nervous voice.

"Do you know anything about this?" asked Conga who was just as shocked as everyone else.

"I do, Sauda explained it a few years back to me, she said that very rarely an animal possesses a gift, a gift of being able to tell who is evil and who is good. There is an aura that surrounds every animal they meet. And they know who to trust and who not to trust. That's why she ran fast when she first saw me. Sauda also said there was a hyena like that but it was years even before Mufasa was born," said Kairu.

"Is there a way to get rid of it?" asked Hawla.

"That I don't know, but the monkey you guys hang around with might," said Kairu.

"This might be a good thing for her to have though, when she is older she can help the pride find out who to trust," said Hondo.

"True, but maybe its best to talk to Jabir first, it might be dangerous later on," said Kijani.

Safiya looked down at the ground, she did not realize that she was even more special than she thought and she wasn't sure what to think of it.

"Well let's stop worrying about it tonight; she's had enough trauma this week to make her head spin. Why don't Kijani, Hondo and I go hunt I bet Safiya is starving," said Hawla.

"I am, I didn't get much," said Safiya.

"Okay then stay here with Demo and the others and we will be back with a yummy dinner for you," said Hawla.

Safiya only nodded before heading over to the small pond for a quick drink. Once she was satisfied she walked over to where Demo was laying snugly beside Dinari, Kairu, Conga, and Mahiri. The four birds were enjoying some beetles Mahiri had found under some rocks and hadn't said a word. Safiya looked at Demo who for a moment did not see her until she gave a small cough.

"Are you alright?" asked Demo.

"Yeah, I was wondering if it was okay if I slept beside you," said Safiya.

"Of course that's fine, I wouldn't let you rest out in the cold even if you have big teeth," said Demo.

Safiya smiled and snuggled tight around the Okapi's stomach. The four birds looked down at her fondly. Safiya noticed their presence and looked up.

"My my for someone who's been through hell your sure know how to keep your spirit up," said Mahiri.

"Well Kijani saved me, Kijani can do anything, too bad Daddy doesn't like him much," said Safiya.

"Oh he was raised differently so it's hard for him to show affection," said Conga.

"Yeah I guess we all have different Dads, how is Grandpa Zazu any way?" asked Safiya.

Conga looked down at her beetle she was finishing off; suddenly she didn't feel like eating. Instead she wanted to go home and be by her father's side until the very end.

"I want to be with him," she said.

Safiya stared at Conga for a moment and then at Dinari who was patting her on the shoulder. She could tell Conga was trying to hold it in and knew that was not a good thing.

"I always get a tummy ache when I hold my tears in," said Safiya.

For a second Conga stared at the ground as her face began to scrunch up until finally she put her wings into her face and cried. Dinari let a few tears fall down as well while Mahiri patted her on the back. Kairu stood there watching, he knew Zazu's injuries were partly his fault and he had no idea what he could do. Demo had somehow already fallen asleep so he had no idea what was going on.

Safiya on the other hand, jumped up and gave Conga and big lick on the cheek. It was a big sloppy one too and it caused Conga to laugh.

"My goodness you really know how to make someone feel a little better," said Conga.

"Yeah I think kisses are good," said Safiya.

Conga gave a big sigh and looked up at the stars that had started to appear against the setting sun. The ones that were out were twinkling a little more brightly, almost like the great kings were watching more intently than ever.

"Daddy never had a chance to tell me about the great kings," said Safiya as she looked up with Conga.

"Well they are up there to guide you whenever you are alone and if you look closely at some of the stars there are smaller stars beside them, those are the advisors of old watching with them," said Conga.

"Wow, that's really neat," said Safiya who barely even blinked as she continued to look up.

Conga was about to say something when the hunters returned with dinner. Safiya ran over to grab a hunk of meat, growling the whole time as she tore it apart while the other three joined her in a nice long meal. Conga watched them for a few minutes before finally curling up and going to sleep. She had only hoped that they would be back at the Pride Lands soon and to see her father one more time.

* * *

Back at the hyenas land, Sauda stood alone beside her pool nursing her wound she had sustained from Kijani the night before. She knew that it would scar eventually and that Kijani had forever marked her. She now hated him more than ever.

Hatari was sitting alone a few feet away, his head still hurt from another blow Kijani made. He was lucky to be alive and he wanted to get back at Kijani in any way he could. The rest of the pack was hiding against a wall waiting to hear from Sauda any time soon. Some had been killed while the sudden attack was made, others were badly wounded, and a few others were waiting for the chance to head out and get the pride lands.

"Hatari," Sauda said in a low voice.

Hatari looked up, he didn't have to say anything Sauda knew he had heard her.

"I want you to go out and get me the two surrounding packs; we will need them for the war we must fight. If we can't use a prophesized child then we will fight for it. I know we still have a chance, the moon will be full for a few more days and our energy from it is still strong. We can take over it easily," said Sauda without even looking up from the pool.

"Yes your majesty," said Hatari as he slowly walked out of the cave, Migwi following him.

"Mark my words, that half cub will pay for what he did," Sauda said as she stared at her pack. They all growled ready to head out and get what they had dreamed of getting for many years.

* * *

A/N: Yeah just a short chapter this time. It will have a little more action soon, hopefully by chapter 17. The next two chapters will be the start of what's going to happen and also you may need your tissues for the next chapter, it might be really sad. I have no idea though. Depends on how well it is written. Well time to suggest an author.

Truthfully I have not read him yet though I really need to get on it because he has said many kind words to me ever since this story began. His name is Fan Boy 101. He does have a Lion King story it's called Of Lions and Dogs so everyone should check it out and I need to get on it and read it as well. So thank you for all the reviews Fan Boy 101 you definitely deserve some recognition.

Well I will hopefully see you all next week. And please remember to review.


	15. Saying Goodbye

The Pride Lands were covered in an early morning mist by the time the group finally returned home. The mist would soon clear in less than an hour or two and the sun would be shining across the Pride Lands. Kijani carried Safiya in his mouth who had fallen asleep only a few hours before. They had reached a small eroded cliff that was one of the many boundaries of the Pride Lands and gazed down at it.

"Finally home," sighed Hondo as he took a whiff of the cool morning air.

Kijani set the sleeping Safiya down gently but it was still hard enough for her to wake up and look at her surroundings.

"Are we home?" asked Safiya.

"Yes we are and I bet Mom is waiting for you," said Kijani.

Safiya was about to make a mad dash when Kijani grabbed her by the tail telling her to wait as they said good bye to Hawla.

"Well I guess I should get back to my pride, if you guys need anything especially if those hyenas show up again just let us know I bet we will be glad to help," said Hawla.

Kijani only nodded as Hawla leapt off the cliff and ran straight for her territory; she did not bother to look back.

"Well I guess I should go find my pack, they're all probably wondering if I will ever return," said Hondo as he did the same that Hawla did leaving Kijani standing there with Safiya, Demo, and the birds.

"Time for us to announce our return," said Kijani as he began to walk down, Safiya right behind him.

"Uh Kijani, you two go ahead, I'm gonna go see Jabir and my father and the others might want to go with me, especially Dinari," said Conga.

Kijani stared at the birds who were perched on Demo, they all nodded save for Demo who was still too busy staring at Pride Rock to be listening.

"Okay see you later then," said Kijani and was soon out of range.

Conga looked at her friends who all knew where her heart wanted to be and they were bound to follow her wherever she went. Dinari quickly whispered in Demo's ear who gave a small nod and started walking toward the tree. Conga began to fly as fast as she could, Dinari quickly joining her.

When they arrived at the tree, they found Jabir quietly painting some of his drawings on the wall. He was just about to dip his paw into a red colored dye when he saw the two birds perch themselves on a twig not too far from him.

"Oh Conga you are back, how wonderful," said Jabir who just smeared some of the paint that was still on his paw onto the tree.

"Yes we got Safiya back, she is safe with us again," said Conga.

"Good good and who is this?" asked Jabir as he looked at Dinari up and down.

"Oh this is my brother Dinari, we came to see Dad," said Conga.

Jabir closed his eyes and sighed, he hated giving others the bad news especially during hard times like this. "I am glad you came, I am afraid he will not last much longer, every breath seems to be his last and he keeps asking for you, I keep reminding him that you are on an important assignment. I think he sometimes forgets about the problems we are facing because he often says that you went off to find the hawk," he said.

Conga looked at Dinari with worried eyes, she knew that Dinari had left because Binti had died and now he would return to see his father die as well. Dinari gave his sister a weak smile; he was not going to fall back on this.

They both looked at Jabir with hopeful eyes, which were their way of saying they still wanted to see him. Jabir nodded as he led them to the small corner in the back of the tree. Zazu was resting the same way Simba had last seen him. His chest rose slowly up and down and the breathing sound he made sounded raspy and painful. Conga and Dinari flew over and stood next to him, unsure whether or not to wake him.

"Go ahead," said Jabir knowing what they were thinking.

Conga gulped and tapped her father lightly on the shoulder. "Dad?" she said.

For a moment they thought he did not hear her and Conga was just about to call his name again when he took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes.

"Conga?" He said weakly.

"I'm right here Dad, I'm home, and guess who I brought with me," said Conga trying to act a little cheerful.

Zazu turned to look at her, and then at the figure standing next to her. "Dinari, is that you?" asked Zazu as he tried to reach out and touch him.

Dinari moved forward and hugged Zazu but not too tightly knowing the pain he was in. "Yeah Dad, I came back to see you," said Dinari.

"I'm so glad you did, I've missed you so much. Did you both rescue Kiara's daughter?" asked Zazu. Thankfully he knew what was going on that moment.

"We did Dad, she's fine now, hopefully those hyenas will leave us alone," said Conga.

"I'm glad we did not loose her," said Zazu.

"How are you feeling Dad?" asked Conga trying to change the subject rather than have him worry about the battle.

"Not good, but not bad either, I can barely move, but I know you can go on without me," said Zazu as he then coughed violently.

"But Dad, you're still quite young, you can have many more years ahead of you, joining me on adventures and helping Simba," said Conga who was now shaking at the thought of her father dying.

"Conga I have taught you everything I know, its time to move on," said Zazu.

"I know, but it's hard to let go," said Conga. Dinari nodded with her.

"That reminds me of that time before Simba was born, do you remember me telling it to you after you came back what happened to the cubs Sarabi first had?" asked Zazu.

"I do remember that one, Mufasa was not sure how to keep going after what happened," said Conga.

"Exactly, why don't you tell it to me, I like hearing stories as I lay here," said Zazu.

Conga looked at Jabir who gave her a quick smile. "I've been telling him stories about the old days since you were gone, he has enjoyed it very much," he said.

Conga hesitated for a moment while Dinari gave her the look of eagerness wanting to hear the tale that he never knew about. Conga knew her father would be happy to hear her voice while he lay there. She then took a deep sigh and began to tell the story.

* * *

_The King was a muscular giant, his paws seemed larger than the full moon, and his mane was full and dazzling in the s__unlight. He was known for his dangerous nature on a hunt and when danger threatened his pride, but when the ones he loved were with him, he was the most gentlest beast anyone had ever come across._

_Mufasa stood on the tip of Pride Rock, letting his mane sway in the breeze, he could see a small blue dot fly toward him and he knew Zazu had found out where his mate Sarabi had gone, she had been missing since the night before. Zazu landed down in front of the king showing no fear and puffing out his chest as a way of saying that he was proud to be the Kings advisor. He was not the frail bird everyone knew now, but in his prime with many hopes and dreams of his own._

"_Sire, the hyenas have kidnapped your wife and you do know that she is heavily pregnant," said Zazu with authority but the look in his eyes told the king other wise that he was scared to death._

"_Yes and the hyenas are not kind to their hostages, we must move now before the child is harmed in any way," said Mufasa._

_Mufasa didn't need his pride, only Zazu who would help him distract some of the hyenas who were making his wife suffer. He knew it was his battle and his battle alone._

_Mufasa reached the Elephant Graveyard to find a young female hyena standing near some rib bones, smiling and laughing at the trouble she had caused him. Mufasa only gave a great big roar that shook the bones all around him._

"_Where is my wife?" He cried out._

"_She is safe oh great king, we are taking care of her and we will give her back if you promise to give us part of your land," said the female._

_Mufasa didn't have to think this further, he knew what they would do even if they took part of the land and he wouldn't have it. "No, you will raid the entire land any way and turn it to nothing but dust, you all need to learn to conserve and that is why you live in this barren wasteland," Mufasa sad._

"_Then we will kill her," said the female who revealed at least ten hyenas surrounding Sarabi. She didn't even try to fight them; instead she kept her head down and growled silently. She was too exhausted to even try and fight even when one hyena shoved her hard into a muddy puddle. She fell and lay there sobbing._

_Mufasa roared. "You wouldn't dare!" _

"_Then give us some of your land and you both can go free, or would you rather spend the rest of your life trying to find another female to create an heir for you," said the female._

_The thought of loosing Sarabi and the child was something Mufasa could not take and he charged blindly at the female hyena and with one quick bite broke her neck. The female hyena lay underneath Mufasa's giant paws as he stared at the other hyenas with anger in his eyes. _

"_Does anyone else want to challenge me," he roared._

_All ten hyenas had seen what happened and all of them stood there shaking wanting to run but knowing that they could all probably take him on. They stood around Sarabi and growled, revealing their sharp yellow teeth._

_Mufasa roared again and charged, the hyenas scattered, some were lucky to run under bones and hide while others were not so lucky and lost their lives under the teeth of a great king._

_When the battle was over, three hyenas lay dead while Sarabi lay in the puddle crying at what had just went on. Mufasa ran to her licking her face._

"_It's okay Sarabi, I am finally here for you, you can go home and rest, and hopefully the child did not get bruised," said Mufasa as he helped her rise back to her paws._

_Sarabi cried even more when Mufasa mentioned the child and Mufasa looked at her worriedly._

"_What's wrong?" asked Mufasa._

_Sarabi said nothing but brought him to the cave she had been kept in and there lying on the floor, were two cubs, no signs of life. As still as the great Pride Rock._

"_The hyenas were too rough and caused me to give birth too quickly, they only lived for a few minutes, but they were so beautiful," Sarabi said as tears ran heavily down her face._

_Mufasa stared at the lifeless cubs for the longest time, finally he could take it no longer and burst out into a roar of anger and sadness. He had tried so hard to raise a family, now it was ruined by those horrible scavengers._

_Together he and Sarabi carried the cubs back to Pride Rock and buried them near the base. For the rest of the day and night, Mufasa did not speak a word, instead he lay at the end of the cave crying and believing he would never have a family of his own. Scar would probably do better than him._

_As he slept alone in the back of the cave that night a dream came to him where he saw an adolescent cub run up to him. He had beautiful golden locks and his eyes shined like the sun. Mufasa stared at him in awe unsure of what to say._

"_Do not give up my father for there are many more chances to have a cub," said the ghost._

"_But what if Sarabi gets kidnapped again?" asked Mufasa knowing how hard it could be to raise cubs in vast environments. _

"_She won't if you stay by her side and love her like you always do. Giving up is something cowards do, you want a child, one that will take your place in the circle of life," said the adolescent._

"_But we've tried so many times, perhaps we are not meant," said Mufasa._

"_Don't give up, the circle of life can be cruel but it only makes you stronger the more you learn from mistakes and dangers. I know you will have a prince of your own one day and he will become a great king like you have turned out to be," said the adolescent. He stayed calm but inside he was feeling a great sadness for Mufasa who had tried so hard over the years, finally succeeded yet failed to even see the cubs alive._

"_But I bet Scar would do better than me, he could probably keep the Pride Lands in better shape as well," said Mufasa._

_The adolescent roared as if Mufasa's voice came out of his, he was not pleased with what his father had said. "Giving Scar your kingdom is the worst you could do. You must try again, you still have many more years to try," he said._

"_I will try again then," said Mufasa who knew that trying to say anything different would only make the apparition more angry than he already sounded._

"_Good and remember the circle of life, it moves us all, through despair and hope, through faith and love. Nothing can be more wonderful than that," said the adolescent._

_Mufasa was about to say something else when the young lion turned around and ran out of the cave, disappearing as soon as he reached the entrance._

_Mufasa stared wide eyed for a brief moment. But then he realized how important that guardian angel was and he smiled. Hope was not lost. Quietly he got up and walked over to the sleeping Sarabi and lay down beside her. Sarabi stirred a little but did not open her eyes as she nuzzled her mate. Mufasa did that same and together both fell asleep with smiles on their faces._

* * *

Conga finished the story and looked down at Zazu who was smiling happily. 

"Just the way I remember it, Mufasa did have a cub again you know, it took another year and a half but it was sure worth the wait," said Zazu.

"It was a lovely story," said Dinari which was his first time hearing it.

Zazu gave a big sigh that sounded raspier than before and then coughed heavily. Conga tried to ignore it.

"You want me to tell you another one Dad? How about the story you told me about when Sarafina first joined, you always loved that one," said Conga.

Zazu was silent for a moment, his chest rising slowly up and down as his eyes began to close. Conga held his wing while he gave a heavy sigh. "I would like to but let me see Binti first," He finally replied.

Conga gasped and looked at Dinari who revealed a tear running down his cheek knowing very well what was about to happen. Before Conga even turned back to her father she felt his wing slip from her grasp.

Down by the roots of the tree, Mahiri could hear the low sobbing from both siblings. He looked at Demo who only sighed knowing full well what just went on up there. Kairu perched alone a few feet away. He knew what went on as well but he also remembered a dream he had the first night with Safiya about what would happen to the prophecy. The dream told him it had changed a lot since it first began, shattering it into many different forms; it could change again any time. But one part of the prophecy he remembered distinctly from all the others and worried him very much.

An Old foe dies before the war.

* * *

A/N: Yeah that probably wasn't as sad as I intended it to be, it would have probably been much shorter too if I didn't add that story in there. I got the idea from Brian Jacques lovely Redwall series. Taggerung was the name of the book that did the same thing, except he used a poem that rhymed and was a little happier. Rhyming is something I cannot do even if I tired. I believe the chapter was 32; great book and an even greater series. Also I know that story was not in the original Memoirs of a Blue Bird, but I might rewrite it one day and make Mufasa's story longer and to include that part of it. I bet a lot more happened in Mufasa's reign, lets pretend for now that I forgot to mention it. 

Well I guess its time to let you all meet an author if you haven't already. This time I would like to recommend The Dishwasher. For the past three years now she has been working on a story all about Sarabi. It is beautifully written and definitely worth the read. It's kind of rare for her to update though but check the story out. You will all love it.

Well that's all for now, finals are this week so wish me luck. I will hopefully have an update around the same time next week or a little later. And if this chapter made you cry let me know, I have no idea if I succeeded in that or not. Well see you later and don't forget to review.


	16. Silence broken

A/N: Okay apparently I confused some of you, that's probably why reviews were kind of low last time. The old foe who died was Zazu and yes Kairu is still seeing what Sauda sees but it's only because he is still between both sides. I know that is confusing and I am sorry but I don't feel like explaining any more than that. Oh yeah and some of you have also thought that Migwi had a plan well again, he could see high up and could see what was going on above him. He saw the giraffes and knew that it would keep the other hyenas at bay. So that was his plan, yup.

Also I do not own the song, John Williamson does, he sang it at Steve Irwin's funeral and I loved it from the beginning it's just a beautiful song. And I don't know if African animals know what vegemite is but just bear with me any way. And if any of you are thinking he works with Spielberg, you are thinking of John Williams, Williamson is from Australia mate and he knows about billabongs so don't piss him off. XP

* * *

**Hey true blue, don't say you've gone**

**Say you've knocked off for a smoko**

**And you'll be back later on**

**Hey true blue, hey true blue**

**Give it to me straight, face to face**

**Are you really disappearing?**

**Just another dying race**

**Hey true blue**

**True blue is it me and you**

**Is it mum and dad, is it a cockatoo**

**Is it standin by your mate when he's in a fight**

**Or just vegemite**

**True blue, I'm asking you**

**Hey true blue, can you bear the load**

**Will you tie it up with wire**

**Just to keep this show on the road**

**Hey true blue**

**Hey true blue; now be fair dinkum (What's a dinkum?)**

**Is your heart still there**

**If they sell us out like sponge cake**

**Do you really care**

**Hey true blue**

**True blue is it me and you**

**Is it mum and dad, is it a cockatoo**

**Is it standin' by your mate when she's in a fight**

**Or just vegemite**

**True blue, I'm asking you. **

Dinari finished the song as Jabir stood above the shallow grave sprinkling dust particles and flower petals on top of the newly tilled soil. Once he had finished, all who were present set a small flower down on top of the grave as their many ways of saying goodbye to an old friend.

Once they were finished with that, Simba walked forward and looked down sadly at the mound before finally saying his words.

"Zazu was a great friend, a noble advisor, and strong willed. It's hard to imagine he's gone now; he was around before I was born and lived through four kings. It was almost like he was immortal. My father loved him, joined him on walks, shared pains and sorrows, and enjoyed life. I bet those two are up there now enjoying eternity even more. It's amazing how he lived through some of the darkest times as well with Scar. Many died trying to live through it and many died trying to fight him. He was a wonderful advisor when I became king, keeping watch of the outlanders who are now our friends. Of course he did choose a successor at the middle of my reign but he was sill a valuable asset. Doing many chores to help keep the land safe. Now I pray he is in the heavens spending eternity in the most beautiful pride land of all with my father and others he had loved throughout the ages."

Simba stood back and took a deep breath; tears fell down his face as he gave the abridged version of Zazu's life and then turned to Conga and nodded.

Conga stepped forward and stared down at the soft earth that was covered in flowers and some grass that has been tossed up after throwing the dirt on it. Her face showed heavy emotion and her eyes were deep set showing everyone how she had shed enough tears to create a new waterhole. She felt extremely empty but knew she had to go on, Zazu would have wanted it.

"Like Simba said, my father was a truly noble bird. Extremely doting to the ones he loved and never giving up on the bad things. I know Simba and even my father told me tales about how they would tease him and that he was kind of annoying, but hey that's life, advisors need some kicking around. As you all know I left for a year to find the one who killed my mother, I half succeeded and came home a changed bird. Dad was proud of me and he would not stop telling me that, even though he gave me extensive training, he made sure I was still doing my job right and that's the best thing a father can do, continue to help his children as they grow up. So I say with a heavy heart that he goes in peace to the pride land that does not die but flourishes throughout all eternity."

Conga took a deep breath letting a small tear fall down her cheek and into the soft earth. She then gave a quick glance at Dinari who was wiping his beak after a quick sob. The young bird stepped forward and began to speak in a stuttered tone.

"I'm amazed at how well you did that Conga, you barely even had trouble saying what you needed to say. I would have stopped and balled my eyes out after mid sentence. But I will say, I'm sorry I even left, I could have spent some nice years with my father, maybe learning a few tricks of my own on becoming and advisor. But I did find someone to take care of when I did live alone and I guess that taught me that friends and family are very important. But even though I left so early in life I feel like I've seen him every day of my life. And it has now changed in a blink of an eye."

Conga could tell that Dinari could go no farther and pushed him back so Jabir could finish the rest of the proceedings.

"And now we say goodbye to Zazu once and for all, say it with me. 'Ngo thando, noxolo, Siyakubongela' (With Love, and peace, we are grateful to you)" Jabir had proclaimed.

Everyone serenaded as one and Conga ended with "Shewele baba" (Hail to you, father).

There was a quiet and long silence that would soon be ended by everyone heading back up to pride rock. There would be no hunts that day; there would be no laughter, just quiet contemplation of remembering an old advisor.

But the silence would change in an instant when a grey form suddenly appeared out of the bushes near the grave sight.

"So sentimental, I just got choked up listening to only a few seconds," said the voice.

Everyone turned to see Sauda standing in front of them and behind her an army of hyenas hiding in the shadows; there were at least seventy of them. Some were from Sauda's pack but there were three other packs as well from the surrounding areas that wanted to fight with Sauda. They licked their lips at the thought of wanting to fight for new land that would be perfect for them.

"Sauda what are you doing here?" growled Kiara as she stepped forward and bearing her teeth.

"I have come for the child, but then if you do not give me the child, your land," said Sauda.

"You disrupt our mourning to demand what is not rightfully yours, can't this wait another day?" asked Simba who was no stranger to confrontations like this.

"Of course it can, I just wanted to announce my presence to you sissies mourning your dead. They are dead so why should you bother with them, they no longer exist," said Sauda.

"That is where you are wrong Sauda, the souls of many run through this land now trying to protect what is there's," said Jabir.

"And I suppose Rafiki told you this when you were nothing but a helpless whelp," said Sauda with a sneer.

"Of course he was the wisest shaman anyone had ever had, not like you who falsifies everything you do," said Jabir. For someone so young and not as brave as Rafiki, he knew how to fight back when needed.

Sauda only ignored his banter and stared at Kijani who was standing in the back with his brother. The scar he had given her was now crusted over but some of it still glistened with old blood, she growled at the young prince. Kijani glared at her but did not show his teeth.

"I will give you all one day, no more no less. At dawn tomorrow you will either give me the child or I will fight for what the prophecy said will be mine," said Sauda.

"So be it, we will all protect it until there is one left standing," said Kiara.

Sauda nodded with as sneer and looked to where Conga was standing and saw Kairu standing behind Conga and looking nervous.

"Kairu what are you doing with them? Either fight them or come back to my side. You have been a very good spy but I don't need you to do that any more," said Sauda.

"I would rather eat elephant dug than join your side again," said Kairu his red eyes glaring.

Sauda gasped while Hatari leapt forward laughing at Kairu's idiocy. "So you joined the enemy, even after you helped me injure the one who is dead now, how very strange." He said.

"I've changed and I already told Conga and she has forgiven me but what she probably thinks of you now is probably something entirely different," said Kairu.

"Then you will die like the rest of them you traitor, I guess I never really found the white hornbill. The prophecy even said you would rise with the chosen child when we receive this land. But perhaps you will change your mind and if you do don't expect a warm welcome from me. You'll only be on my side," said Sauda who then turned around and motioned for her pack to follow her.

Hatari stood there staring at Conga who only glared back at him as if she could bore a hole through his skull. Hatari gave a small smirk, he knew he could take her on if the chance arose, and win too, he knew Conga would act too rashly. Hatari gave Conga a quick growl and then turned around and followed the hyena clan back to the outlands where they would be camped until morning. The pride watched them go, angry that Sauda would dare disrupt an important funeral even if it had been done a few minutes earlier.

"My goodness there were a lot of them," said Kijani after a long moment of watching the pack disappear like a dark cloud.

"Yeah how are we going to defeat them if we do not have as many to fight them?" asked Haidar.

"We are going to need Itimu again, he could probably help," said Kovu.

"But Sire I have seen Itimu's pride, they number a little more than we do and that is not much for at least seventy hyenas. That would probably total out to forty for us," said Conga acting like the advisor she should be.

"Then when you go out to ask Itimu for help, find the wild dogs and ask them as well. Try the jackals if you have to too, I'll bet they would love to fight," said Kovu.

"I will do that, you want me to go now?" asked Conga.

"If it's not a bother for you especially after burying your father," said Kovu.

"Its no trouble at all sire, I need to worry about this battle, mourning my father can wait," said Conga in the most serious voice any one had ever heard her make.

"Very well then please go find Itimu and Karak if you can, we will need a lot of help," said Kovu.

Karak was Hondo's father and leader to the wild dogs, he was a little rough around the edges but he usually agreed on anything you asked him to with a little persuasion. Conga always knew how to do it with ease. But she had to hurry, even though it seemed far off, dawn was closer than anyone ever wanted it to.

* * *

A/N: Yeah short chapter, didn't want to bore you with Conga negotiating with Itimu and Karak about what was going on. Don't worry though the next chapter will be the battle so it will be busy. And keep a sharp eye on my updates I want to get these last four chapters in quickly so I can get this story over and done with. Check your emails for author alerts or come by fanfiction every day to check. You probably don't want to miss these last four chapters.

And this week's author I would like to suggest is Amase. She has written two lovely lion king tales that blow me away every time I read them so check them out if you haven't. You will love her stories. And if any of you readers really want me to suggest you let me know, I might have forgotten a few people so please tell me if I have. I don't want to leave you guys out.

Well see you all very soon and please don't forget to review. I'm looking at you readers who run away after reading this sentence, you know who you are. What are you too chicken to say stuff, well buck buck buaaaawk XP.


	17. First Battle

The sun was barely a sliver as it rose in the early morning air when Kiara made her way to the tip of pride rock. She has not slept well that night, neither did Kovu or anyone else for that matter. They all knew that a dangerous battle was coming and they were all very nervous.

Conga was able to enlist Itimu's pride, Karak's pack and about fifteen jackals to help in the battle. They were all willing to help the queen and king keep their lands the way they were, they did not want to deal with any scavengers taking over the territory.

Itimu, Vitani, Kovu and Karak stood next to Kiara as she watched a lone figure appear near the outlands, no one else followed it but they all knew what this was about it would be one more ultimatum before the battle.

Kiara stood there quietly as she watched Sauda make her way closer to the rock Sauda did not climb up but instead stood many feet below on top of a rock that could help her voice echo toward them.

"So is the child ready to help me take over this land?" asked Sauda without any problems speaking.

"She is safe with her grandmother in the cave and that is where she will remain until your carcass is lying dead in the savanna," said Kiara, her royal voice booming.

"So its war then? I somehow sensed that, very well I shall gather my army as you will yours. We will fight until sundown, fighting at night was never something any of us were ever good at, too hard to see in. We will fight again when the sun rises until either you or I are dead, is that understood?" asked Sauda.

"Yes but as long as you promise not to send an assassin at night to kill us," said Kiara.

"You have my word, you may think I am a heartless bitch but I do show some sympathy," said Sauda.

From the back Kairu rolled his red eyes. Sauda didn't have any sympathy whatsoever but he did know her tactics and she was being honest.

"Very well then, we are ready whenever you are," said Kiara.

Sauda only nodded and ran back to the outlands. Kiara turned nervously to her allies all were standing behind her ready to go at any moments notice. Kovu gave the look of concern and rubbed her face with his in what he hoped would not be the final embrace.

"Good luck my love," said Kovu.

Kiara gave him a weak smile and turned to her father who was waiting anxiously to fight in a battle once again. Kiara then lead the group down the rock, and lined them together where Sauda had stood and they waited.

For what seemed like an eternity, an eerie calm swept over them. The wind blew quietly, causing manes to sway and feathers to ruffle a little. No one said a word; they all knew that the coming battle was soon.

Finally a figure emerged, it was Sauda again and this time her entire pack was with her, snarling menacingly and ready to fight. Sauda stood atop another rock a few feet away and sat there sizing her competition out and giving Kiara the look of hate.

"This is your last chance Kiara, either run away and give me the land or destroy your pride with your stupidity," said Sauda.

Kiara only growled revealing her pearly whites that could make an herbivore flee. She was definitely not something to be messed with. Sauda gave a maniacal laugh and turned to her pack.

"Attack!" she yelled.

Kiara did not need to say it, as soon as the hyenas took one step, Kiara's group moved forward as well. It took only seconds for them to clash. Teeth dug into skin. Claws scraped across fur. Eyes were pecked at by Conga and her little group of flyers. It was truly a ghastly sight to watch.

Kovu ran in and attacked the first hyena he saw. The hyena was not ready to give up on Kovu's first bite. The hyena yelped and growled at the same time before taking a big bite into Kovu's shoulder. Kovu roared with rage and swiped back at it. The hyena jumped out of the way just in time. This caused Kovu to loose balance a little and it gave the hyena advantage as he leapt onto Kovu's back and bit into him between the shoulder blades.

Kovu roared in agony again and tried to swipe at the hyena but the hyena stayed put keeping a firm hold on his skin. Finally Kovu had enough, if he was not going to shed blood in this situation; he might as well break bones. With one mighty heave, Kovu leapt into the air and landed hard on the ground on his back. It was painful but it did the job. Kovu rolled over and got up to find the hyena trying his hardest to get up but Kovu had won, breaking the creatures back. Kovu quickly ended the hyena's misery by quickly biting into his neck.

Kijani was having a similar situation only he was fighting four hyenas at once. All around him they bit and clawed there way on top of him trying to get him down so they could move in for the kill but Kijani kept himself up and was able to swipe at one with his paw and sending it flying into the air. He was able to get the same done with the second hyena but the other two were just like Kovu's adversary, strong willed.

Kijani bit hard into the hyena's back leg while it had a painful grip on his side. Both creatures flinched but both held on not ready to give up until one of them was on the ground. The other hyena was on Kijani's back ready to help the other hyena by knocking Kijani down with a hard blow to the head. But Kijani sensed this and after seeing a quick glance at what his father did, he rolled on the ground, knocking both hyenas off. It stunned the one who was on his back and Kijani was able to make quick work of him but the other kept coming snapping at his leg and digging his teeth in deep.

Kijani was about to swipe at the hyena ready to send him flying when a dark shape moved passed and attacked the hyena ripping him apart without even a second thought. It was Haidar; he had saved his twin brother.

"Hey I almost had him," said Kijani.

"Yeah but I thought helping you out once would be a good idea," said Haidar with a smile.

Kijani ruffled his brother's smooth mane before running back into the fray ready to keep fighting.

Itimu was having a rough time with the hyenas; at one time he had six of them attack him at once from all sides. Itimu was loosing the advantage and roared out his anger as he tried to shake them off. Two of them did not expect this and went flying into the grass where they ran to find a more formidable opponent. Itimu though could not hold the four hyenas on him much longer, he tried once more to shake them off but ended up landing on the ground feeling the hyenas rip him apart.

But it did not last long. As soon as he felt like it was all over for him, he heard the hyenas yelp and felt them jump off him. Itimu looked up to see Dinari, Conga, Mahiri, and Kairu all pecking at a hyena sending them running as fast as their legs could carry them. Itimu leapt up and even though he was bleeding in a dozen places, he continued to fight for the pride.

In the den, Nala was holding Safiya closely, along with three other cubs that were too young to fight with the pride. Safiya clung to her grandmother tightly as she listened to the horrible noises outside. The other cubs shook with fear, afraid that they would never see their mother again. Nala groomed Safiya to calm her down but Nala was just as scared as she was and knew she would have to stand her ground sooner or later. Sure enough she did.

Damu one of the original hyenas in the ambush snuck into the den. Sauda had ordered him to do this and had hoped she would kidnap the child without them noticing. Nala jumped up keeping Safiya and the other cubs behind her and growling angrily as Damu moved forward.

"Give me the cub now or I'll kill you," said Damu.

"I will not let you get by me, I will fight you until one of us is lying on the ground," growled Nala as she showed her sharp white teeth.

"Have it your way then," said Damu as he moved forward for the attack.

He didn't go far though when a familiar stick appeared out of nowhere and hit him hard on the head. Damu fell to the ground as the stick hit him hard again the second time. Nala relaxed a little as she saw Jabir move out of the shadows with Demo who began to hold him down in case he woke up.

"Thank you Jabir, I don't know how easily I could have taken him," said Nala.

"Not to worry, we will dispose of him properly and keep guard so no more will enter," said Jabir who then nodded to Demo.

Demo smiled and gave Damu a quick and heavy kick with his back legs. Damu flew out of the den and onto the hard rock waking him up for a brief moment to see Demo hit him hard on the head with his hooves before throwing him off Pride Rock. Damu would never see who had won the battle.

The battle raged on outside, a jackal was fighting for his life as a hyena fought with him. The hyena had the advantage while the poor jackal tried to fight back but he was much weaker than his opponent. Together they rolled in the dust, scratching and growling as both tried to go for the throat to end the battle. But the jackal was no match for the hyena, a few seconds later; the jackal's head met a rock momentarily stunning him. It was long enough for the hyena to go for the throat. It took only one bite to end the jackal's life.

From afar, Sauda watched with amusement. She was not fighting; she was waiting for the perfect moment to do so, mainly when the sides got smaller and smaller. She stood on a rock with Migwi waiting for the moment to come; she did not mind if she didn't fight today, she could wait the next day, or the next it didn't matter to her. She only wanted less lions to be around her.

"Hmmm we seem to have a little more than them, this could be a very easy takeover, we could also be finished in a few days," said Sauda.

"True but things can change," said Migwi who was deep down wishing the fighting would be over soon.

"Don't be pessimistic around me, cheer up and watch the fatal mistakes others make, it brings me pleasure," said Sauda.

Migwi said nothing, he knew Sauda was going mad for power and nothing could stop her. Migwi had even been ordered to kill with his thorn he had but he just couldn't take the idea of killing that easily. Not wanting to be a part of the battle any more, he flew to a tree and stood watch from there hoping no one would oppose to it.

* * *

A/N: Yay another short chapter, but explaining about fighting can be a little too much after a while. The next chapter will be a bit longer and you are in for quite a surprise. I'm not telling you what it is yet though. You'll most likely find out by Friday, I hope so any way.

And I know I am mentioning this person again but I don't care because she needs love. Please see Bdlywrttn. She is lonely and needs attention. Her stories are cute and fun and they're about meerkats. And she is a very nice person.

Well that's all for now, please remember to review, they make me smile.


	18. Shadows past

Two days had passed; both sides were feeling the strain of fighting loosing many of their members. It was evening now and Kiara and Kovu stood atop the edge of pride rock looking down on the savanna. Some of their pride, Itimu's, Karak's pack, and many jackal lay dead next to many hyenas they had defeated. Both of them stood there silently, unable to grasp what to do next.

Their silence was broken though when Itimu came to join them. He was limping from a shoulder bite but that was not going to stop him from fighting in the morning.

"I thought this would be easy, we are much stronger than they are but I forgot that three hyenas can become one and wreck everything with a vengeance," said Itimu.

True, and they are so stealthy it's hard to figure out what they are going to do next," said Kovu.

Itimu nodded. "Jabir says he has an idea, it's a risky one but its worth trying."

"Oh what is that?" asked Kiara.

"I don't know, he just told me to come out here and retrieve you so we can discuss it," said Itimu as he turned around and limped back to the cave.

Kovu and Kiara looked at each other before following him back in ready to hear the young baboon's important idea. He was busy attending to Vitani's injured side when they arrived. She was growling at him as Jabir administered herbs and other remedies to keep the pain low. Jabir ignored her growls luckily she did not try and bite him.

"You have a plan Jabir?" asked Kovu.

"Now relax for a bit let the herbs dry before getting into any more fights, and yes I do have a plan. It's a plan I hoped I would never have to use," said Jabir as he put his medicines aside.

"Is it that bad?" asked Conga who perched on his stick.

"Its not bad its just something Rafiki told me to use only when our lives were at stake, I think it is the best time and it's the reason my name is Jabir," said Jabir.

"Restorer?" asked Dinari.

"Yes my original name had been Johari but after Rafiki had seen me at a young age restoring a small acacia that had died he knew I had a gift. A gift of bring things back to life for a short time. The acacia tree only lived for three more days and it was more of a ghost than a living thing, but it was an accomplishment that made me feel proud for what I did," said Jabir.

"So your saying you could restore the ones who are out there dead back to life?" asked Kiara.

"Yes but not just them, but the great kings of the past, old advisors, and even members of the pride," said Jabir.

"You mean my father can fight this?" asked Simba whose eyes widened with excitement.

"Yes but since they have been gone for so long I need someone to go to the flourishing Pride Lands and talk them into helping us. If they do help us, they will have strength far greater than any of you lions, able to defeat two hyenas with one blow," said Jabir.

Everyone stared at Jabir in amazement, some murmured under their breath about how strange it was and others wanted to see it done.

"I have thought about who I should send to do this. Kijani and Conga, Kijani can talk his great grandfather into helping us while Conga could get the old advisors," said Jabir.

"Whoa wait a minute, are you saying that my son should talk Mufasa into fighting with us. He barely even made it in time to rescue Safiya and I saw him getting saved on numerous occasions while fighting those hyenas," said Kovu with a growl.

"Hey at least I tried, show a little support Dad," Kijani said with a growl as he stood in front of his father. Ever since he had returned from saving Safiya, Kovu had basically ignored him only telling him good job before heading out to go hunt. It hurt Kijani dearly and so far he did not like being home.

Kovu glared at his son and looked over at Haidar who was resting with Safiya. Kovu felt he was perfect for the job but Jabir seemed to be getting his way again.

"My heart says he's the best one to do it and please stop fighting about which brother is better. You could loose them and then feel the pain from how you treated them," said Jabir.

Kovu only rolled his eyes and went to sit with Kiara. Kijani and Conga stood in front of Jabir ready for orders.

"Now you two only have an hour to talk them into helping us, for some reason that's the longest our solid bodies can stay in the spirit world. It will take some encouragement and persuading but I know you both can pull it off. If they agree, tell them they must recite these words when they hear my voice or they will not be able to enter our world again. 'Bring me back home, I am needed and give me the strength I need to vanquish my foes.' Once an hour is up you will return to our world and you will not see these spirits until the battle begins is that understood?" asked Jabir.

Conga and Kijani nodded. Jabir tapped his stick and began to recite the words he had used when he brought back the acacia tree. Conga and Kijani closed their eyes and then felt their world spinning in which seemed like forever until it finally stopped.

The two opened their eyes to find themselves in a beautiful savanna, the sky was crystal blue and the grass was as green as any spring day. Far ahead on the horizon stood a perfect tree that was lush and healthy.

"Is this really the place?" asked Kijani.

"It has to be but where is everyone?" asked Conga.

No sooner had she asked when a healthy lion with a full red colored mane walked up with a lioness whose face was as soft as the wind and looked so friendly. Kijani stared at them in disbelief while the lion stared back unsure of what was going on.

"Kijani, I didn't know you died," said the lion.

"No sir I didn't, Jabir sent me to talk to Mufasa and other kings, the battle with the hyenas is growing harder and we need help," said Kijani.

"Oh my I didn't realize it would get that bad but Rafiki said that it would one day happen, he told me about it when I first became a king," said the lion.

"Are you Mufasa then?" asked Kijani.

"I am him and I would gladly help but we must speak with the others about this, I shouldn't do it alone, so follow me please," said Mufasa.

"Will my father be where we are going?" asked Conga while she looked around at the beautiful landscape.

"Not with the pride, your family lives in that tree over there. Your father has only been here for a little while so it might be hard to persuade him," said Mufasa.

"I'll see what I can do though," said Conga as she flew toward the tree leaving the lions to go talk to the pride.

Conga was a little nervous about seeing her long deceased family. She felt she needed Dinari there with her for some support but if Jabir said she was the right one for the job, she would try. She made her way to the tree and perched on the farthest branch on the outside peering in to see if any familiar faces lurked about.

"Hello? Any one there?" she called.

"Who's there?" came a voice from under a shrub, an unfamiliar female hornbill she had never seen before.

"Jabir sent me, we need your help in the pride lands," said Conga sparing no expense in starting a conversation.

"Well that's something you don't see or hear every day, so you're not dead?" asked the hornbill as she began to poke Conga.

"No and would you kindly stop that I really want to talk to the others," said Conga.

"Sorry sweetie I'm just a little surprised," said the female.

Conga rolled her eyes, she hated being called sweetie. "So who are you any way, a long lost aunt or something?"

"Nope, I'm your grandmother Malaika, your father's mother," said the hornbill.

Conga's eyes widened, she finally meets her grandmother only this time in a stranger environment. Malaika chuckled at Conga's surprised look and lead her to the middle of the tree. For a moment she was surrounded by hundreds of leaves and branches, it was dark but somehow they would move every time she touched them. It didn't take long though for the light to finally show through the trees until she finally came to a hollow area where branches formed a circle around a stump that was probably used for conferences. Above her was an opening that let the sun through and shined down on the stump. All around her members of her family perched, some slept, while others stared at her curiously. Malaika smiled at Conga's curiosity and decided to interrupt the family by squawking quite loudly. Everyone shut up in an instant.

"Everyone I have a surprise, she ain't dead, she just needs our help. Ummm…what was the problem any way?" asked Malaika.

Conga gulped at first but knew she needed to explain it fast, she didn't have much time. "The hyenas have returned to take over the pride lands and we have been fighting for two days and our losses are great, we need your help in fighting them, Jabir says that you all can fight and defeat a hyena with a single blow."

"What and after just arriving in this place only a few days ago, I know the hyena's strength and it doesn't seem logical," said a familiar voice as it flew down in front of Conga. Zazu looked like his young self again, full of energy and quite fast at landing.

"Well maybe it doesn't seem logical to you but maybe to others it does," said another familiar voice. Binti still as lovely as Conga remembered her.

"Mom?" gasped Conga.

"Of course, I've missed you very much," said Binti as both embraced in a rich hug.

"And why would we not want to help after all I helped her once why not do it again," said another familiar voice that caught Conga completely off guard.

He was younger than she remembered him but that face and that grumpy sounding personality gave it away and in an instant Conga launched herself upon him.

"Baakir, you old windbag I can't believe its you," said Conga.

"Hey I'm not a windbag any more but after knocking me down like that it did feel almost like it," said Baakir.

"So how exactly do we help you in this predicament?" That was Nuru; Conga's other brother who died early after being sick.

"Well Jabir said that you all will not be in solid form only ghosts of yourselves and that you will have more strength than any one. You probably won't die because you won't be your full selves, but you will be able to fight and help the pride win back what is theirs," said Conga.

All the birds murmured their thoughts together, some shook their heads because they had never known the pride and came from different parts of Africa while others argued about who should go including Zazu and Binti who were both arguing in a rare sort of way.

"She is our daughter, how can you not want to help?" asked Binti.

"Because I've already settled down," said Zazu.

"That is the lamest excuse I have ever heard, you really should beat up those hyenas after those many times they beat up you in your life especially that last time," said Binti.

Zazu only growled at her while Conga and Baakir chuckled at the two arguing like an old couple over a family crisis which of course it was. Conga knew that it was going nowhere fast so she decided to break it up.

"Mom, Dad, its okay if you don't want to help, I'll just be disappointed if you do decide on that, the pride is counting on you and so am I," said Conga who now tried the upset look she sometimes gave.

Binti gave Zazu an angry glare causing Zazu to cower in fear and knowing that it was best to give the right answer.

"Okay I will help, I guess giving them a taste of their own medicine shouldn't be too difficult," said Zazu.

"That's the spirit old lad, knock em dead like they did to you. I saw Conga do that once, but for a different dead…… person…… thing," said Baakir as he punched Zazu in the back and the realized how stupid his comment was.

"Wonderful, so who is all going?" asked Conga.

It was mostly the family Conga knew. Zazu, Binti, Baakir, Malaika, Nuru, and Bahati. But there were others in the mix that she knew from her father like Azizi, Sule, Badu and a cousin of hers on Azizi's side of the family. It wasn't much but it was still an army that could probably do some damage.

"Well now that that's settled just remember these words when you hear Jabir's voice. You have to recite it together or it won't work just say. 'Bring me back home, I am needed and give me the strength I need to vanquish my foes," said Conga.

They all nodded and then gasped as they noticed that Conga was fading. It was time to go back to the cave and tell Jabir the news, hopefully Kijani was able to get the army he needed and the preparations would be ready. Conga sighed; she really did not want to leave her family after many years. They were helping her though and that was good enough for her, even if they wouldn't be in solid form.

"Well see you all on the other side," said Conga with a nervous smile.

And she disappeared in a cloud of myst.

* * *

A/N: Haha. I really enjoyed writing that and I hope you enjoyed reading it. I just wish I had more action rather than talking so much, it annoys me to no end. I kind of got the idea from Lord of the Rings in that battle in Return of the King. Awesome battle, too bad I can't make up a funny idea with an elephant.

Well time to suggest a new author. She kind of hinted at it, or probably didn't I don't know it just seemed like a good idea, plus I need to read her, plus I hope she's a girl it didn't say the gender in the profile, feel free to kill me if I made the mistake. Airezi has written a lovely poem and a story which I still need to finish, only got to chapter two before my eyes could no longer stay open. I am definitely going to sit down and finish reading it because it is really good, I can't believe I haven't read it yet. So check her out.

Any way please remember to review, let me know how I did, if I made any stupid mistakes and what not, and why I think Fry of Futurama is hot. Not necessarily in that order, you may skip the last question. Two more chapters to go yahoo!


	19. Final Battle

Conga closed her eyes as she felt herself being hurled back to her world. It felt strange at first; like someone was pulling her back but after a while she enjoyed the relaxing feeling until everything felt still. She opened her eyes to find herself lying on her back with Dinari and Mahiri standing above her, looking curious and questionable.

"Welcome back Conga, did it go well?" asked Jabir.

Conga rubbed her eyes, she felt a little drowsy and for some reason could not have the strength to speak. She looked around to find Kijani, he was lying nearby on his side and a sudden jolt caused him to pick up his head as if something had startled him.

"Well were you two able to get help?" asked Jabir.

Kijani looked at Conga; he sat up for a moment as if he had never seen the cave before until finally he spoke.

"It was hard, Mufasa had to help me convince them, he was all for it but they did not seem to want to help," said Kijani.

"Yeah my family too, it was actually my mother who helped me convince them," said Conga.

"You saw mom?" asked Dinari eyes wide with wonder.

"Yes, everyone in the family, including Baakir," said Conga as she looked at Mahiri. Mahiri grinned, he was glad to know that someone he remembered was seen once again.

"So who will be helping us?" asked Jabir.

"Mufasa definitely, Mohatu, Sarabi, Kopa, and about five lionesses I have never met or seen before but they were willing to help," said Kijani.

"I got my dad, my mom, Baakir, Nuru, Bahati, Malaika my grandmother, Dad's two brothers and a cousin of mine," said Conga.

"Hmmm not many but its still a good army that will help us, thank you for doing it hopefully this matter will be settled by tomorrow evening. I think its safe to say now that it would be a good idea to get some rest, you all need to be ready for it," said Jabir.

No one objected to the idea. Conga and Kijani were both exhausted after going through what they had to do and both were sound asleep before any one else. Dinari dreamed of hearing about Binti again but knew that he would see her in the morning, bright and early, helping him fight off foes. Simba was the same, seeing his father again made his stomach churn with anticipation. Would he have time to bond if the battle was won for a bit? They all would have to find that out in due time.

Morning arrived, no clouds were in the sky and the sun was already warming the ground as the two sides gathered. They moved the battle a little farther from Pride Rock, mainly because it was hard not to step on a dead hyena on a few occasions.

Sauda stood on top of a rock like she had done the previous times and watched at the pride slowly walked toward them and stopped a few feet away.

"I have a good feeling about today Kiara, don't you?" asked Sauda with a sarcastic voice.

"I'll feel better once it's all over," said Kiara.

Sauda said nothing but nodded to her pack to attack. Kiara saw this and roared for her pride to follow her into battle. They clashed once again.

A few feet away, Jabir stood on a lone promontory trying his hardest to call out to the shadows past and finish the battle once and for all. It took longer than he anticipated but as soon as his words were finished a bright light appeared followed by a loud roar that made every animal in the savanna stop and see what was going on.

In the blink of an eye, a transparent Mufasa appeared and ran full steam toward the hyenas, behind him were the other lions who had agreed to help and of course Conga's family.

One hyena growled ready to fight the transparent Mufasa; he didn't look so tough to him and met the past king in midair as he jumped. It was a strange feeling like running through a cold wind that brought him down hard. Mufasa stood over the brave hyena growling and showing his teeth but the hyena was not ready to slow down and bit at Mufasa. Another hyena tried to save his friend as he leapt atop the huge beast. Even though Mufasa was transparent, he was still solid and able to feel the bite of a hyena. Roaring with rage he grabbed the hyena that was on his back and flung him against a rock. The hyena was killed in an instant.

All around Mufasa, the lions and birds of the past all gathered around the hyenas who were brave enough to fight back. Many of them did not have a chance while others continued to fight no matter what the outcome.

Sauda could not believe her eye at what she was seeing. Never before had she known a shaman to do this and it angered her very much. She looked around for Jabir and found him standing alone watching the action from a rock. The anger inside her made her want to destroy the shaman and hopefully send the apparitions back to where they came from. Slowly she stalked toward the shaman.

Seeing the strength and power of the ghost some of the hyenas who would not dare fight decided to make a run for it, they knew they had no chance and they did not want to risk it. Hatari was in the middle of all this and he was not ready to give up, he chased after the group.

"Come back here you cowards, they're not as tough as they look if you know how to fight them," he growled.

But he was ignored and Hatari watched as the hyenas ran past him. There was no way he would follow, he wanted the land badly and he would fight for it no matter who it was. He turned to find his first victim, Kijani. The young lion was standing a few feet away ignoring the group that was running away and instead had his full attention on Mohatu defeating three hyenas at once. Hatari licked his lips, he had been waiting for this moment ever since Kijani saved his sister, he would make him pay dearly for what he did.

In the blink of an eye, Hatari ran full speed at Kijani. Kijani did not see it coming and was knocked hard onto his side. The wind knocked out of him.

"Well well, looks like I finally got you and now to make you pay," said Hatari, fangs bared and claws out.

Kijani didn't even have time to fight back as Hatari raked his canines across Kijani's nose and down his face. Kijani roared from pain and jumped back up to fight but Hatari was too quick and cut a deep gash across his side and part of his back leg. Kijani roared again and swiped at Hatari causing the hyena to trip and roll a few feet. Kijani ran toward him to attack but at the same moment Hatari called two of his best fighters to help him and in an instant two more hyenas were upon him slashing and biting him as hard as they could. Hatari shook himself of the heavy swipe and went for the throat.

Before he could even do so though, something stopped him knocking the wind out of him yet again. Hatari looked up to find Hondo standing above him growling menacingly with his fangs showing. Hatari looked over at Kijani and found him lying on his side but the other two hyenas were no where to be seen until Hawla appeared behind him blood dripping from her face.

Hatari growled with rage and tried to attack Hondo but as Hondo backed away, Conga, Mahiri, Baakir, Kairu and Dinari all arrived and dive bombed him. Hatari growled with rage as he ran to get away from the pecking birds. It was more painful than he realized and every time he snapped he would miss.

He wasn't looking where he was going until he was just inches from the edge of the gorge where Mufasa met his doom years ago. Hatari tried to halt to a stop but wasn't fast enough and slid down the gorge, claws embedded in the rocks trying to hang on.

Nearby Kumanda had watched the whole thing and ran toward the gorge to see where Hatari had fallen. He saw the second in command hanging on and looking up at Sauda's former mate with fear in his eyes. An emotion he had never shown.

"Kumanda, thank goodness you're here, please help!" he cried as his back legs tried to find a hold but instead brought him farther down the wall.

Kumanda stared at him with no emotion for the longest time. He had never liked Hatari, too demanding and forceful, poisoned by Sauda and her treachery. "Why?" was the only word uttered out of his mouth before turning away.

"Kumanda get back here, I need to help Sauda, these rocks are too slippery, please, I beg of you," cried Hatari.

But the cries were fallen on deaf ears and Hatari could no longer hang on, his claws could no longer hold until finally he slid down the gorge. Falling and sometimes slowing down on a rock ledge which he hit hard before falling again to the bottom of the gorge, the life of Hatari was over.

Back where the battle was taken place, Sauda was only inches away from Jabir who had not noticed her presence. He was smiling at the battle that was being won by his side and he knew that there was going to be a great celebration once it was over. Sauda would not have that though and pounced upon the baboon teeth bared.

"Well look who I got in my paws, it looks like you have lost Jabir, as soon as I kill you the apparitions will disappear and then we can be the real victors," said Sauda as she laughed her wicked laugh.

"You think you will win but so far my pride has fought valiantly, they will not give up no matter what happens," said Jabir with great bravery.

Sauda only growled and lifted a scarred paw high in the air. Jabir closed his eyes ready for a heavy strike but instead felt nothing. Instead he felt her weight slip off him and saw her land heavily beside him. Ignoring Jabir, Sauda leapt up growling at the creature who had attacked.

"Alright who did that?" she growled.

Jabir then saw Migwi fly in front of Sauda with a smile on his face almost like he had done a good deed for Sauda.

"What are you smiling about coward?" asked Sauda.

Migwi lifted one of his talons to reveal the poisoned thorn he had used to assassinate many foes and pointed it at her side. Sauda gasped and saw the small scrape where Migwi had hit her. Sauda looked around her a noticed that the battle had stopped and everyone was staring at her, waiting for her final moments the turn coated eagle gave her.

"That was for poisoning the minds of many and creating great fear among those who followed you," said Migwi his smile turning into a serious and hateful look.

"You bastard, how dare you turn on your leader like that! No matter, you'll be going where I will be going soon enough," said Sauda.

Migwi did not see it coming as Sauda grabbed him heavily by the neck and swung him hard against a rock. Everyone gasped as they heard his bones crunch against the rock and watched as he rolled to the ground like a rag doll. Kairu flew over to his fallen adopted father tears welling in his eyes knowing that Sauda had done a number on him.

"Thanks for….changing, I hoped…..you would," said Migwi.

"Even though you killed my father, I thank you for taking over for him, you were a great teacher, even though it was to teach evil instead of good," said Kairu.

Migwi gave a weak smile before closing his eyes forever. Kairu clutched him tightly, ignoring the drama around him.

Sauda turned to everyone around her breathing heavily, knowing her final moments were coming, the hyenas and lions watched with great curiosity and wonder while she growled at them wondering if any of them would have a cure. But it would be too late, seconds later, she fell to the ground in spasms drooling heavily and kicking her paws like a young pup running after a rabbit in a dream. She tried calling out for help but her voice would not come out and no one could hear her cries. Finally she was still.

Everyone murmured at the sight they had just beheld and the hyenas began to back away. Kovu stared at them angrily wondering what they were going to do.

"So do you still want to fight or have you given up?" he asked.

The hyenas looked at each other and were about ready to make a run for it when Kumanda made it to the front of the group and stared up at Kovu with bravery in his eyes.

"I'm sorry this had to happen King Kovu, Sauda had poisoned our minds into thinking that this should be ours, as you can see, she was wrong. I humbly ask that you let us go in peace," said Kumanda.

Kovu stared at the old hyena for a long moment unsure whether to trust him or not until Kiara stepped forward.

"You have my permission but I was thinking, my land is large and there is a part I never actually use it's an area near the elephant graveyard and outlands and stretches to the Misty lands. It's kind of a big area and if Itimu is okay with it, perhaps they can take over there if they use the land properly," said Kiara as she turned to Itimu.

"I would not mind especially if you use the land properly and don't harass us," said Itimu.

"I agree as well, as long as they don't harass us," said Karak, he didn't care if he had a say in it or not.

Kumanda turned to the pack that had not fled; they all looked exhausted as if fighting was the least worrisome thing on their mind. They all nodded at him.

"If it's alright with you then yes, I will teach them to be friends with you and use the land wisely and once I am done, Rugar could take my place," said Kumanda as he turned to the young hyena who had done a lot throughout the month.

"I would be most honored sir," said Rugar.

Kumanda smiled at Rugar and then looked up at Kiara with thankful eyes.

"I hope we do well together and we will live separated but for now would you all like to spend the night at Pride Rock, some of you have some injuries that should be looked at," said Kiara.

"Sauda never did that, she just made us take care of ourselves," said Kumanda a tear running down his face.

"Well let's make sure that never happens again, starting right now we are friends," said Kiara who moved forward and led everyone back to pride rock.

"But what about the ones who have died for doing what they believed in?" asked Kairu still standing beside Migwi's lifeless body, tears running down his face.

"We will bury them tomorrow but for now lets focus on those who need attention or they will be the ones who will be buried as well," said Jabir putting his paw on Kairu's wing.

Kairu nodded and looked over at Conga who was standing with Zazu, Binti, and Baakir she walked forward and gave him a hug telling him he was going to be alright.

"If you need a shoulder to cry on feel free to," said Conga.

Kairu nodded and was about to fly with her back to Pride Rock when they heard a low moaning sound, they turned to the direction it was coming from and saw Hawla and Hondo supporting an injured Kijani. He looked exhausted and was bleeding in a dozen places. Jabir ran over to him.

"Can you two go on like that the rest of the way?" asked Jabir.

"Of course we are his friends, we won't leave him like this," said Hawla.

"Alright, take your time, I will administer to him as soon as he arrives," said Jabir.

Hawla and Hondo nodded while Kijani could barely lift his head up, let alone know what was going on yet he was still willing to limp back to Pride Rock no matter the injury.

It was slow go but Kijani finally made it with his friends a little later than everyone else. When they arrived, they found Simba laying on the edge of Pride Rock talking to his father about the things that had gone on since Mufasa's death. Simba looked extremely happy and purred next to his father's ghostly pelt.

Kijani entered inside to see Jabir just finishing up on a hyena. Kovu stared at his son in disgust.

"Well that figures, the troublemaking son can't even finish a battle without having someone finish it for him," he growled.

Jabir shushed him and inspected the wounds after Kijani fell in a heap and he didn't even care when Jabir touched the side of his face with a special herb to cleanse it.

"Will he be okay?" asked Hondo.

"He will be fine but I'm afraid this wound on his face and the one on his side will leave a permanent scar. It won't be pretty for a while," said Jabir.

"Figures, Haidar could do it, why not him? I'll tell you why it's because he's second rate, born second and will always be second in everything. I can't believe I entrusted him to take care of Safiya," said Kovu.

Kiara stared at her husband and then gave him a heavy slap with her paw, no claws but enough to get his attention.

"I can't believe you don't care about him, he did the best he could and that's all that matters," said Kiara.

"Yeah but what will happen when he is older will he still make bad decisions with that mutt friend of his?" said Kovu who was now staring at Hondo with hate.

"I don't think he will, I think he will make a great second in command," said Kiara.

Kovu growled at her and then stormed out, not wanting to hear any more about what others thought about the son he did not care for. Kijani had heard the whole thing too, and it tore him up inside. It hurt more than the pain he was feeling now and he knew he would have to face his father one day.

In the corner of the cave, the birds sat together watching what had just unfolded; they all felt bad for Kijani and wished they could help him somehow.

"Glad I never got that treatment," said Dinari.

"Oh yes if your father did that to you, I would have booted him out of the nest and raised you all on my own," said Binti.

"I think you did any way mom," said Conga.

"True but even at night," said Binti.

"Reminds me of me," grumbled Baakir.

"But lets not talk about that right now, especially after Jabir said we were no longer needed and that we will be back home by morning," said Zazu.

"So soon?" asked Conga not ready to let go yet again.

"Hey I asked Jabir while we were walking home if there was any way you could visit once and a while and he said yes, but it can only work for about an hour," said Zazu.

"You asked him?" asked Conga looking very skeptical.

"Yeah and don't cry for us, it's the circle of life, we all die and move to a better place. But we will still be there, watching over you the best we can, you just don't know it," said Zazu.

Conga smiled and gave her father a big hug, one she had wanted to do since she came home from saving Safiya. Zazu her tightly both shared a great warmth and a love that was often hard to come by.

"Oh and mom thanks for helping me those years ago on my quest, that was a sly thing," said Conga.

"Your welcome," said Binti with a chuckle.

Together the family shared their love until they could share it no more. But Conga was ready this time because she experienced great feeling and happiness after sharing the warmth of their love, she knew she would see them again and that was all that mattered. Dinari, Mahiri, and Kairu would be with her when she needed it and that was all that mattered to her. She would be there for Kairu when he needed someone to cry with over Migwi. She only wished that Kijani could feel the same.

* * *

A/N: Yay for sappy chapter endings lets all blow our noses with a giant tissue or elephant ear. Sorry I like random sarcasm. Seventeen pages too, haven't done that in a while. Any way one more chapter to go and this will be all over, thank God because I am sick of it. I feel like I've been doing this thing since the dark ages or something.

Ummm I cannot really come up with a good writer right now, I think I did everyone but if I forgot please let me know. But there is someone else outside of the lion king you should check out. She is my best friend and a Lord of the Rings writer so if you like Lord of the Rings go on over there. Her name is LadyMage21, so check her out if you find the time too. She doesn't get much attention.

Well like always please do not forget to review and let me know what you think, see you all in a few days.


	20. Moving on

A/N: Well here's the final chapter and I am going to do something a little different this time, I actually did it a few years ago in an old Redwall story I have up and a one shot Mulan story. It's basically a song that I thought would fit the ending perfectly and throughout the story the lyrics will be put in. So here's a disclaimer.

Disclaimer: I do not own the song Little Wonders the great and handsome Rob Thomas does and Disney might as well, haven't seen Meet the Robinsons yet, but will someday.

* * *

**Let it go**

**Let it roll right off your shoulder don't you know**

**The hardest part is over, let it in**

**Let your clarity define you in the end**

**We will only just remember how it feels.**

And so there was peace once again in the Pride Lands, Safiya was now safe from any threat and she was free to play where she pleased, with a babysitter of course, but they didn't have to be too watchful.

The hyenas settled where Kiara said would be perfect for them just near the border in the south between her and Itimu's land. The Outlands and Elephant Graveyard were theirs and Kumanda taught the pack that stayed how to treat the land with respect and not overuse its resources. He would rule for a year before Rugar took his place. Some hyenas did object to the idea and quickly left without a quarrel, they really did not want to deal with any more battles but felt that more land should have been theirs.

The hyenas were not the only changes to the lands. The prides were also dealing with new and interesting things. King Itimu realized that he did not have an advisor and after watching Dinari one day while he and Kovu were relaxing, he decided to appoint Dinari as chief advisor to the Misty Lands. Dinari was more than thrilled, he was next door to Conga and both could share what was going on in a short period of time rather than have the lions run from place to place. Dinari of course did make sure that his best friend Demo would remain untouchable and that anyone who killed him would be exiled from the pride or the pack.

Conga now had another assistant and friend besides Mahiri, Kairu. Kairu was more than willing to help her around the pride lands to find out what was going on in case anything was missed. They were really close but both decided to wait for a while to take on any commitments. It was better to be friends for a while rather than tie the knot especially when they had known each other for barely a month.

Jabir was his usual self, discussing things with Rafiki over different matters and helping out with any ailments. The misty pride did not have a shaman so he was doctor to both prides; he hoped to change that someday soon. Simba and Nala weren't getting any younger but both still had the youthful spirit that they once had and were often seen cavorting through the grasslands for a few hours enjoying their love together.

The only one that did not seem complete was Kijani. It had been three weeks since the battle and his injuries had healed but the scars would remain for the rest of his life. The one on his face formed two jagged scars that started near the middle of his nose and traveled from his cheek to the corner of his upper lip. The scar above that was not as large and only went from the middle of his nose to the middle of his cheek just below the eye. The other scar was on his side and it formed near the middle moved all the way to his hind leg where it stopped a few inches afterward. Kijani felt so ashamed of himself and never actually wanted to hang near the pride because of how he looked and how Safiya would think of him. But one of the major reasons was because of his father, he wanted to talk to him sometime but never had the courage to walk up to Kovu and tell him how he felt.

For many days he paced back and forth wondering what to say and to get the courage to have a nice long talk which would hopefully bring his father to listen and share his reasons of anger.

It was actually early morning when he finally got the chance; Kovu had just woken up and was down by the waterhole getting a drink. Slowly Kijani approached him until he stood beside his father with a nervous look.

"Dad?" said Kijani.

Kovu looked up from drinking and stared at his son in they eyes causing Kijani to look down at the floor and scratch at it with his claws.

"What is it?" asked Kovu, his voice sounded rough yet it sounded like he was willing to talk.

"We need to talk," said Kijani.

**Our lives are made in these small hours **

**These little wonders **

**These twist and turns of fate**

**Time falls away**

**But these small hours**

**These little wonders still remain**

Together father and son walked over to a nice private spot under a tree near a cliff that overlooked the land. For a while both sat there saying nothing until Kovu was first to proceed.

"So what do you want to talk about?" asked Kovu.

"I just want to know why you can't give me a chance? Why you can't accept the fact that I am not like Haidar?" said Kijani with bravery in his voice.

For a moment Kovu said nothing and for a brief second Kijani thought his father would lash out with his claws and hit him for thinking something like that but it never came.

"Because I have given you many chances and you have failed in most of them. You have always been a troublemaker, I ask you to watch Safiya to see if you would be responsible enough, you did well for a while but on the one day we really needed you, you run off to play with that pup friend of yours. Then you tell me that you saved Safiya at the last second I know you could have done it quicker than that, I guess you must have slacked off," said Kovu, his words were harsh but his voice remained surprisingly calm.

"Hondo got hurt, we all agreed to stay there until he was well, I didn't realize they were doing it so soon when we got there, you're lucky that I wasn't later than that," said Kijani.

"I see," said Kovu. Kijani could sense his father's unhappiness inside him and it made him wonder if his father accepted him at all.

"I'm not like Haidar Dad, if we were the same; we would probably get you all confused with our seriousness. You need to lighten up and let us be who we want to be," said Kijani.

"But can't you be a little less energetic, you're an adolescent lion for goodness sakes and you need to start taking responsibilities. Grow up and fight like a lion not like a cub who gives up easily," said Kovu who's voice was now rising.

"I do have responsibilities, I helped the pride as best I could to defeat those hyenas, I watched Safiya the best I could and she loves me for it. Why can't you see that even little things can make a big difference," said Kijani his eyes were now welling up with tears.

Kovu only looked at Kijani and stared out into the pride lands, at the rock he called home since moving there after meeting Kiara. He had changed so much when he met her and he thought his outlander personality had changed but the way Kijani talked to him, it sounded like he was still living with his mother being trained to hate.

"Do you even love me Dad?" asked Kijani after the long silence.

Kovu stared at Kijani quite startled by what he had just heard. "Of course I love you, I love you with all my heart, I was so thrilled when you and Haidar were born because I was a father and I wanted to be a father who was there and treat you kindly and not like my mother," he said.

"Then why don't you show it any more? Are you too afraid too? Are you afraid I won't accept it? Or are you just lying to make me feel better?" asked Kijani who was now staring at his own father in the face, he tried to hold his tears back but they fell down his cheeks staining his fur. He wanted to know everything and he wanted his father to tell him how he really felt.

"Because you don't seem to care, you always are out gallivanting around, and like I've told you many times before I just don't see you living with the pride very longer," said Kovu.

"I see then, just because I might leave you won't show me the same love and affection. You know the things you said about me the night I came home after the battle really hurt me, and you know those stories you told me when I was a cub about your brother Nuka and how you would never want to play favorites because of what happened to him? Well you acted just like your mother that night. So if you think about it, some things never wear off," said Kijani.

Kovu stared at Kijani, hard enough to burn a hole through his skull if he had the power. Kovu knew that Kijani was right and he knew he had to repay him somehow.

"I'm sorry 'Jani, I guess Safiya's predicament worried me and it turned me into a brute, can you forgive me?" asked Kovu.

"I do forgive you. But I'm afraid that even though you do say you're sorry you will still be the father I have known for a long time. I'm gonna do what you have been telling me for a while, I'm leaving," said Kijani.

Kovu did not have any time to speak as Kijani walked down the hill away from him and began to run west. He did not want to be near his father any more, too much tension was being felt and he needed some time to think alone and take a long last look at Pride Rock before he moved on.

**Let it slide**

**Let your troubles fall behind you, let it shine**

**Until you feel it all around you and I don't mind**

**If it's me you'll need to turn to we'll get by**

**It's the heart that really matters in the end**

Two hours had passed since the conversation with his father and Kijani sat alone on a ridge staring at pride rock and wondering if he should ever return. He thought he would never talk to any one from there again until he saw some familiar shapes running toward him in the long grass. For a moment he thought about running, running from the friends who shared his journey yet he knew they would never forgive him.

Hondo was the first to show up, followed by Hawla, then Haidar and finally Safiya who actually ran the entire way.

"Dad told us what happened, we were going to track you down and bring you back," said Haidar.

"Yeah, I don't want my big brother to go, you're too fun of a playmate," said Safiya who began to crawl all over Kijani.

Kijani looked down at Safiya and gave her a long nuzzle. She was a sweet little sister but he was unsure about how to explain his problem in front of such a young cub.

**Our lives are made in these small hours**

**These little wonders**

**These twist and turns of fate**

**Time falls away**

**But these small hours, these little wonders still remain**

"I can't stay here any more, my life belongs somewhere else. Maybe just to explore, maybe to find a new land to call my own, I really don't know, I just don't think Dad wants to deal with me any more," said Kijani.

"But I was going to have you as my assistant when I became king, you were going to help me deal with the problems I would face," said Haidar.

"Thanks Haidar it's a wonderful offer but not right now," said Kijani.

"And I was just starting to like you," said Hawla with a look on her face that would make anyone want to hug her.

"You don't deserve me, not with these scars on me now. Enough to make anyone cringe," said Kijani who looked away from her lovely eyes.

Hawla sighed and shook her head, she really started to like Kijani he had a playful nature about him yet he was tough when he wanted to be and she liked that about him.

"Will we ever see you again?" asked Safiya still clinging to Kijani's paw not wanting to let it go.

"Maybe, I might come back one day to see how things are going, maybe when Haidar becomes king," said Kijani with a small smile.

"And I would gladly accept you into my kingdom," said Haidar.

"Thanks bro, I should be going now before it gets too hard to say goodbye. You all were great friends to me and I hope none of you change," said Kijani who was now making a run for it.

Kijani did not go far though when a familiar voice called his name causing him to stop and look very confused. It was Hondo and he seemed to be crying.

"What makes you think you're gonna run off without me?" asked Hondo a small tear falling down his cheek.

"I didn't think you'd want to come," said Kijani.

"Are you kidding, if we both left there's no telling what adventures we could do together out there and I would not miss it for the world," said Hondo with a big smile.

**All of my regret will wash away somehow**

**But I cannot forget the way I feel right now**

Kijani smiled, that Hondo always ready for something new and exciting to happen to him. Kijani knew his best friend would never leave him and it would not start right now.

"Well I guess we should earn a name for ourselves then, since I will always have you by my side," said Kijani who was now going at a slow jog causing Hondo to try and follow.

"Through thick and thin?" asked Hondo as he tried to catch up while wagging his tail.

"Wherever life takes us," said Kijani.

Hondo barked happily jumping up in the air as he ran and followed Kijani through the savanna toward the west to wherever adventure would take them.

**In these small hours these little wonders**

**These twist and turns of fate**

**Yeah these twist and turns of fate**

**Time falls away but these small hours these little wonders**

**Still remain**

* * *

**Quite possibly the last author's note you will see in a while so please read: **

Well that's the end, I hope you enjoyed that I know some of you probably were hoping Kovu would get his ass kicked but I thought I should stray into different waters and do it this way. And like Kijani I will be taking an extended leave of absence for I don't know how long. I've lost interest in the Lion King for right now and I want to go back to my old original stories I haven't written in years. So yeah Fanfiction will be something I won't be doing for a while but please stop by Deviant Art I might actually put up my original stories over there especially since Fiction Press is really confusing and not much seems to go on over there. My stories will be mainly about wolves and coyotes, also some drawings over there as well, mainly Futurama, Animaniacs, Looney Tunes, and whatever else my mind takes me. If I do come back though, it might be a rewrite for Memoirs of a Blue Bird or what happened to Kijani, we'll see though.

Now some important announcements to some reviewers.

Bdlywrttn: From the moment you first starting reviewing you became an awesome friend. As I slowly began to know you, I realized that we had a lot in common, we like the same things and we both voted for Kodos or was that Kang, can't remember they both look alike. Please read her stories, I know I have been begging but you all are missing out on great meerkat stories. See you over at Deviant Art.

Ochi: I have no idea if you still read this story especially after that last review you gave me. But I want to thank you for taking the time and writing a detailed review about what I needed to work on and how I could improve. You told me the truth in the most polite ways possible and I thank you so much for that. I hate getting people who say I need to work on things but don't help out at all. And you were the one who suggested I should have both sides win and I thank you for that, I liked how it turned out.

Kahllynn: First off please sign in if you review again, I want to thank you without forgetting stuff which I tend to do when you do it anonymously, plus I'm too lazy to look for you. Just to let you know the first review you gave me over the first chapter you said you knew Migwi was going to be a big part, I really did not know what I was going to do with him but you made me think and that's how his noble end came about. Everyone read her stories too; they are very fluent and lovely.

Well that's all for now. Thank you to MinisterSweetGoodKid, Pichooi, SunRise19, Fanboy 101, Arezi, Anderson Jr. (wherever you are, haven't heard from you in forever, hope you are doing well) Shadowthehedghog92 (I still need to make you my friend at DA, I've actually been forgetting) Demo the bounding Jackalope (I hope you are doing well, haven't heard from you at all). And to all the other random reviewers out there you all were great. Take care now, I'll try my hardest to read your stories when you all update, and remember to thank you after you all review. waves


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